


Soft Spot

by HeadFullOfFantasy



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Divergence, Connor & Richard brothers, Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Twins, During Game, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Siblings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Gangs, Gavin Reed is Bad at Feelings, Gavin900, Gay Disaster Gavin Reed, Gay Sex, Hank Anderson & Connor Friendship, Hank Anderson is Connor and Upgraded Connor | RK900's Parent, Heavy Angst, Hurt Gavin Reed, Hurt Upgraded Connor | RK900, Hurt/Comfort, I will bend canon gruesomely to fit the story woops, Investigations, M/M, Murder, Mutual Pining, Protective Upgraded Connor | RK900, RK900 is called Richard, RK900's Nickname Is Nines, Rough Sex, Sex with love, Slow Burn, Smut, Soft Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed, Torture, Unemployed people vandalise, idiots to lovers, reed900
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2020-11-24 15:56:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 89,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20910257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeadFullOfFantasy/pseuds/HeadFullOfFantasy
Summary: "But the softest, most vulnerable spot“ Nines took Gavin’s Hand in his, guiding it upwards. At first Gavin twitched at the unexpected touch, but then he gave in and let happen what was about to come. “is the neck. If you push too hard, you can break every android, no matter how advanced.”When Hank and Gavin are supposed to work with two androids, Connor and Richard, they aren't thrilled at all. However especially Gavin draws fond of his partner over time. Through hunting a gang of android haters that doesn't even stop when it comes to killing humans they are forced to work as a team. And when Gavin gets caught in their clutches, something new and dark awakes inside of Nines.





	1. The day Captain Fowler was screamed at a lot

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, thanks for coming by! I have to say that I am extremely nervous posting this. This isn't the first thing I ever wrote, but the first thing I wrote in a very long time. And it's only the second fic I ever posted publicly. Nontheless I hope some people will have fun reading this. English is not my mother language and I have nobody reading over it, so I hope you can forgive me some mistakes. I hope I can improve my skills over writing this. :3  
Little disclaimer: I am a full time student and I don't know how stressfull the next semester is going to be. I will write when I can, but I can't promise a regular schedule nor that I can finish this. I just thought I will motivate myself if I post this here. Please bear with me!
> 
> Just so you know where to place this in the game: Kara and Alice just found shelter at Ralph's place and Markus escaped the junk yard. The story begins at the DPD station.

“Gavin? Gavin, hey! Are you even listening to me?” The young detective jolted up from his trance in which he had watched the hypnotic steam rising from his coffee. He took a deep breath and shook his head to chase away the sleepiness.

“You were saying?” Gavin tried to give Tina the sincerest smile he could manage, but her face told him that he failed miserably. However, she gave him a crooked, yet worried smile and sighed.

“You did an all-nighter again yesterday, didn’t you?”

“Nooo.”

Officer Tina Chen raised her eyebrows at that obvious lie. “Hey, I know that you wanna catch this fucker, Gav, I get it. But believe me, you won’t achieve anything when you’re sleep deprived and hold yourself up with just the magic of coffee alone.”

Gavin felt a light sting in the back of his head. He knew his friend was right, yet he could sense that he was very close on finding the murderer.

“Yeah I know.” He took another sip from his cup and looked around the break room. Some donut boxes had been piled up on the counter across the room, taking most of its space. “If only he wouldn’t escape right in front of my nose every time I get close on his heels!” He gestured in Tina’s direction. “It’s like he is mocking me.”

In the corner of his eye Gavin saw a dark grey and blue shadow that turned out to be the android from yesterday’s interrogation entering the break room. Immediately he felt despise bubbling in his stomach at the sight of it looking around probably analysing shit. He turned to his colleague with a snort as well as a disgusted grin.

“Fuck, look at that ... Our friend the plastic detective is back in town!” Gavin straightened his shoulders and began to clap his hands slowly. “Congratulations on last night, very impressive!”

The android turned around to look at them. “Hello, Detective Reed.”

Tapping his fingers on the little bar table Gavin looked him up and down. Tina didn’t say a word when he strolled over to the human like machine.

“Never seen an android like you before...”, he said letting his eyes wander over the taller figure. “What model are you?”

“RK800. I’m a prototype.”, the thing answered with an unconcerned, almost monotonous voice.

“A prototype?” Gavin turned around to Tina while pointing at the android called Connor. “Android detective ...” He couldn’t believe that this thing was even standing in front of him and here it was with the same rank as him. A rank the detective had hardly worked for for years. “So machines are gonna ... replace us all ... is that it?” An idea formed in the back of his head. “Hey, bring me a coffee, dipshit!” When the android just looked at him with big eyes and turned his head Gavin had to hold back an ugly laugh. “GET A MOVE ON!”

“I’m sorry, but I only take orders from Lieutenant Anderson.”

Gavin started chuckling at these words and turned around again to face Tina who was watching them a bit concerned. Not only was this plastic bag trying to replace them, now it didn’t even want to obey!

“Oh...Oh...” Detective Reed’s fist hit the androids stomach with the force of his body torsion. His knuckles were burning and his elbow prickled where the momentum had compressed his joint, but he never would have admit that it hurt more than he expected it to. At least the android seemed not to be as resistant to pain as he claimed to be. He pressed a hand to his solar plexus and sank to one knee. “When a human gives you an order, you obey. Got it?”, he asked leaning down to the panting metal man. “Stay outta my way ... Next time, you won’t get off so easy.” Gavin’s voice had lowered to a dangerous volume even the thing understood, because it avoided eye contact. With two fingers he pushed its head away from him as he left the break room, only looking over his shoulder to throw a last snort at it. Tina sprinted behind him, catching up on her colleague.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, why shouldn’t it be?”, he asked back while walking over to his desk.

“Well, you kinda just went nuts on this thing back there. I know you don’t like androids, but wasn’t that a bit much?”

Gavin let himself fall into his chair and put his feet up on the table. He shrugged. “Maybe. But someone had to put it back into its place. Yesterday it got a confession out of the house android that killed his owner. We don’t want it to flatter itself because of that, don’t we?”

Tina shook her head slightly smiling down at him. “Just please get some rest, Gav, that’s all I ask you for.” She patted his shoulder and left to continue her work as well. Her long time friend muttered something to himself while grabbing the file in front of him to study it again, even though he knew every detail of it by now.

After about half an hour or so he felt a desire for something to drink creeping up on him, so he threw the stupid paper to the side and made his way back to the break room. An annoyed sigh escaped his throat as he saw a tall figure with a hair quiff and a blue strap around his arm in front of him.

“Didn’t I make myself clear enough when I told you to keep out of my way?! It’s not like you could drink a coffee anyway!“ Gavin had walked up on the man angrily, but he noticed his mistake even before it turned around. This android was even taller than the other one, towering over the detective with almost a full head. His jacket was white, not grey and when he turned, Gavin was met with blue eyes instead of brown ones. Standing so close Reed could have sworn that his hair was a tiny bit darker and the collar was closed in front of his neck making him look way more intimidating. He backed off immediately wrinkling his nose.

“Well, indeed I am able to consume coffee. Besides I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

Looking behind the android Gavin could see Hank and Fowler arguing in the captain’s office over something he couldn’t hear. Anderson gestured at the man beside him that wore a grey jacket and a blue ribbon around his arm marking him as a robot. A horrible feeling took hold of his guts when he looked back at the android in front of him.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, not another one!” The anger in his voice made his opposite raise his eyebrows. Gavin’s eyes got stuck on the label saying ‘RK900’. So he was the following, probably updated model then. “Are you at least here to replace that other thing?”

“My person was assigned to the DPD to support the ongoing investigations as long as Lieutenant Anderson is occupied with the cases surrounding androids. Both RK800’s and my model are prototypes and supposed to be examined in direct comparison to optimise Cyberlife’s productions. So, no, I am sorry to inform you that we both will stay.” There was more sarcasm in it's voice than Gavin liked to hear. He clenched his fists to calm his anger when he spoke back to the robot.

“Be careful how you talk to me, number nine.”, he hissed looking up from the model number into the android’s eyes. The detective turned on his heels, the desire for something to drink completely gone. On his way back to his desk he sensed that he was still raging on the inside. One plastic scum was kind of fun to push around, but two?! That really showed that they _were actually_ planning on replacing them all.

“Now that we’re partners, it would be great to get to know each other better.” Gavin turned to look at where the familiar voice was coming from and wasn’t surprised to see the android Connor next to a very grumpy looking Lieutenant. Apparently he wasn’t the one having the worst day today.

“Hahaha, looks like you got yourself a plastic puppet for a partner.”, he laughed in Anderson’s direction. He just needed to get off some steam right now. “Why looking so angry? Isn’t a drinking buddy just what you need?”

That was one step too much for the grey bearded man and he snapped, spilling the one thing Jeffrey had asked him not to. “Well, at least I am not alone with that! Didn’t Fowler tell you already? There are enough androids for both of us, Reed.”

Gavin took a moment to process the information given to him. He watched as the android from the break room that had joined them unnoticed and stood behind his twin with the hands behind his back laid his head to the side.

“Hell no!” Before anyone could respond to that he was already rushing towards Fowler’s office, pushing the white jacketed robot out of his way in the process. When he entered, the Captain looked up from his computer just to let his face freeze in a very bugged expression.

“I refuse to work with this plastic shit! I –“, Reed declared almost screaming, but was interrupted by an even louder Captain Fowler.

“No, you will work with whoever – or whatever – I assign to you!”, he thundered against his inferior. “I just told Lieutenant Anderson and I won’t tell you the same again, Reed! You will work with him, or you are on leave!”

Gavin’s body was shaking from the rage inside of him, but he knew he couldn’t talk back now if his he wanted to get that fucker he was hunting for weeks by now. The android with blue eyes had entered the office as well, his face so calm and callous that he wanted to punch the expression of his face.

“May I present to you: your new partner, Richard.”


	2. Thirium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin is a little bitchy in this one. Enjoy :D

Kicking the paper bin to the side angrily, Gavin let himself fall back into his chair. This was just unbelievable. He felt like he just was assigned a babysitter, watching every step he took and reporting it to Fowler immediately if he made a mistake. As if he needed somebody helping him solve this case! He was a grown man and one of the hardest working detectives of the DPD!

The tall android approached slowly towards his desk, standing in front of him with an unreadable face.

“What the fuck are you looking at?”

“I’m sorry that my presence displeases you so greatly, Detective Reed”, it answered slowly.“, but I assure you that my involvement will only benefit the investigations.”

“Oh, I bet it will.” Gavin’s voice dripped of sarcasm, something the android obviously couldn’t quite sort into his program. At first he looked a bit confused as he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but instead he closed it again the moment he understood the mode of expression. Gavin could see how it chose another strategy in his head and he had to snort deprecatingly at the thought of it. “What even is the difference between you and the other one?”

“Like I told you earlier, I am here in direct comparison to Connor. My model is the slightly updated and latest version of the RK-prototype series, making me faster, stronger and more resilient.”

Gavin kept quiet for a moment. “So it’s basically like when they bring out a new, overpriced phone just weeks after its predecessor. With the only difference being a better camera.”, he replied unimpressed.

The android sighed and smoothed a hair strand back that had fallen over his forehead. “If you want to see it like that, then yes.”

“Well, so maybe at least _you_ have the feature to bring me some coffee.”

The machine threw him a long look. “Excuse me, Detective, but that is neither what I am here for nor has it anything to do with my mission.”

“Oh great!” Gavin threw his hands up in a frustrated move. “Two malfunctioning plastic puppets!” He glared at the android one last time, then he decided to continue his work at the computer. The thing wasn’t worth hurting his knuckles again.

After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence it dared to speak again, changing the subject. “I was informed that you are still working on a case surrounding several murders. Could you give me some details on what happened exactly?”

“Here, read the report yourself, prick!”, the detective replied, throwing the file in its direction. The robot caught it mid air in one fluid motion without seemingly any effort. Gavin would have never admitted that it made him a tiny bit jealous. Nevertheless, he was not going to divest him of the work he had already done.

The android browsed the file very quickly, his eyes flying over the words. A few seconds later he put it down on the desk to look back up. “There were two victims, both male and in their forties. Cause of death was an overdose on red ice in both cases. And the only thing marking them as murder were the words ‘plastic fucker’ written in their blood over their heads, is that right?”

“Congratulations, you can read.”, Gavin answered while shaking his head. The android chose to ignore that.

“Is there any new information or a suspect that could be interrogated?”

“No, there isn’t.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “And what is your little processor telling you out of that?”

The tall one tightened his eyebrows for a moment before he spoke again. “I think the best clue we’ve got is the writing. In the report it said it was human, which would make sense if you translate ‘plastic’ to ‘android’.”

Detective Reed sighed resigned. “Yeah, I figured that too. The first thing I checked was where they had been the days before. Both visited a bar with android strippers called ‘the red passion’, but all witnesses have seen them leave normally and well. At least the ones that could remember anything at all.”, he said rolling his eyes. “I just don’t know how this strip club plays into it all when we have two victims that died of an overdose on red ice they definitely consumed themselves!” When he looked up again, the robot man starred into the distance, his LED circling yellow.

“I think we will find out something new soon.”, he stated. “There has been another murder. 46 year old man, overdose, writing saying ‘plastic fucker’.”

Gavin jumped to his feet. “Where?”

“Not far from here, just a few blocks away. Northlawn Street.”

The detective grabbed his leather jacket and a key from his desk before turning around and walking towards the exit. “What are you waiting for, Nines? An invitation?”

“Detective, my name is Richard.”, he said after clearing his throat. Gavin stopped abruptly and turned around.

“No. You are number nine.” He pressed his finger on the android’s chest with so much force that it would have hurt a human. “And this over there ...” Gavin pointed at the android called Connor with his head. “is number eight. Got it, plastic shit? If you want to accomplish your stupid mission then you will have to play under my rules.” Nines gave him a long look, but eventually he nodded. However, he didn’t back away. “Good. Then come.”

They left the DPD in the direction of the parking lot while Gavin put on his jacket. He headed straight for a black motorbike, swung himself on the seat and pulled the helmet over his head. The robot hesitated as his partner put in the key and started the motor. There was enough room for two, but he doubted that the other man would accept him in the back.

“Detective? How am I supposed to get to the crime scene?”

“I thought you are so fast? The fastest and strongest model Cyberlife ever built?”

“Yes, but ...”

“Perfect. We will see each other there then.”, the smaller one said, clapping down his visor before pushing himself forward and leaving the parking lot.

* * *

The victim sat on the couch, the head tilted back and rested on the backrest. His eyes were closed, the expression on his face relaxed as if he were just taking a nap. Some remains of blood red crystals laid in a little bowl next to pale hands as well as a stained crack pipe. The only sign indicating any violence was a cut down the man’s arm, covered in some dried blood.

“Looks like he went out just like he wanted to.”

Tina slapped her clipboard over the back of Gavin’s head, making him hiss, even though it was more out of surprise than pain. Rubbing the back of his head he turned to her. “What was that for?”

“You should show a little more respect as the only investigator at this crime scene.”, she lectured him while taking pictures of the words ‘plastic fucker’ written in already dried, brown blood over the victim’s head.

“You’re at the DPD just as long as I am.”, he muttered in his non-existent full-beard.

“Yeah, but this is your case, _Detective _Reed.” She stressed his title a lot before leaving to document the evidence in the following room. Gavin knew she wasn’t jealous, though she often acted as if she were his older sister and therefore scolded him whenever he did something stupid. Any other person talking to him like that would have been put in place by him instantly, let alone in a polite way, but regarding Tina he didn’t mind. If it weren’t for her, he would be in a very different place right now and certainly not leading an investigation.

The door on the other side of the room opened and through it came an android detective with very blank looking expression. How was this fucker still not showing any emotion?!

“Oh, how nice of you to finally join us. What took you so long?”

There still wasn’t any stir displayed on his face as he watched Gavin lift the victim’s upper lip with a pencil, revealing dirty yellow teeth, crooked from the constant drug use.

“Apologies, Detective. I first had to get hold of a police car. Officer Miller helped me out in the end.”, he said calmly, although it appeared to the detective that there was a harried undertone in his words.

“Then make yourself useful.” Gavin glared at him from over the couch, but continued to look around the living room for evidence. The robot nodded and proceeded to do the same.

The house wasn’t exactly rundown, but the building and furniture hadn’t seen a lot of devotion in the last few years either. The yellow carpet was stained and old, its stile outdated for at least a century. In the walls flaunted some nail holes nobody had made the effort of plastering after hanging up pictures that were removed by now, the only memory left of them being faded imprints of their frames.

Detective Reed knelt down beside the scuffed front door, examining its lock. There were no signs of forced entry on the door or the windows around the house. And the victim had died relaxed on his couch. It all seemed like the murderer had entered after the man’s death and let himself in in a different way than home invasion.

“Hey, you!”, he called for one of the forensic team members and walked over to him in the next room. “What can you tell me about the victim’s injury?”

The person in the overall turned to him, revealing the face of a young, green eyed man. “You- you mean the cut on his a-arm?”, he asked insecurely. Gavin rolled his eyes at him.

“Of course I mean the cut! Or do you see any other injuries on him?”

The rookie shook his head. “N-No, Sir.”

“Sooo? I don’t have all day!”

“He was already dead when it happened, Sir. The wound doesn’t show a lot of bleeding, what indicates that the cut was inflicted on him after death.”

“See? Wasn’t that bad after all. ”, Gavin replied with a smirk, patting the boy’s arm when he heard his name being called from the living room.

“Detective Reed? Detective?!” He turned to see an officer with a very distressed looking face. “Your android, it...”

“Hell, what is it doing now?!” He ignored his opposite’s stutters and rushed past him to the other room.

The moment he entered he saw the tall man standing in front of the red letters on the wall, lifting his blood smeared fingers to his mouth.

“What the fuck, Nines?!” The android licked some of the blood and his LED started circling. “What are you doing?”

“I am analysing the victim’s blood.”, he answered as if it were the most casual thing to do.

“Eww, that is disgusting.” Gavin wrinkled his nose. Of course this could be helpful, but he wasn’t quite thrilled to have to work with a robot that took pleasure in human blood.

The android suddenly got a surprised look on his face. “Detective, something is wrong with this. I’m registering a lot of thirium in this sample.”

“Yeah, Sherlock, he inhaled a shit load of red ice before he pegged out.”

“This thirium is different. It’s way more than it should be after consuming this amount of drugs and on the other hand it is the kind you find in blue blood. It’s android thirium.”, he concluded.

“Wait, so what you’re saying is that he got machine blood into his system and the forensic team didn’t notice?”

“The difference is nearly unnoticeable, only the latest technology can detect it. He was infected with more thirium than normally and this dose ... it was lethal.”

Gavin was so caught up in the new development of the case that he didn’t even insult Nines for his ostensible self-praise. “That would mean that he and the other ones actually didn’t die of an overdose - well, at least not one they are responsible for themselves -, but were killed with android blood. Someone probably injected it into them!” Gavin’s eyes grew big as the puzzle pieces fell into place. That was why there couldn’t be found another cause of death! The murder had been covered by the victims’ drug addiction! Afterwards the offender must have cut the victims to write his bloody message.

“Richard, what are you doing?” Tina’s concerned voice shook him out of his thoughts. Nines had crouched next to the corpse, pushing up his sleeves. Next, he stood up again and started to unbutton the shirt to reveal a pale stomach.

“Looks like I am not the most disrespectful around here after all.”, the detective said, shaking his head. The android ignored him completely, instead continued to scan the victim’s body.

“Here! I’ve found something.” When Gavin walked around the couch and looked what his partner was pointing at, he saw a small puncture on the man’s lower hip. It was nothing more than a tiny red dot, extremely easy to miss. Something a vaccination would leave. “I can’t recreate a scenario in which he could have gotten this unnoticed in the house. It doesn’t seem like he got the injection in this place.”

It took Gavin a moment, but then he realized it. “The strip bar! He must have gotten it at ‘the red passion!’”

Nines nodded. “That would fit the point of injection. If somebody gave him the jab while passing him at a crowded place, it most certainly would go unnoticed.” He pulled the shirt back into place over the man’s torso. “According to my calculations the perpetrator has to be around 1,7 meters tall.”

“Perfect.” Gavin straightened his back and clapped his hands. “I guess we’ll be going murderer hunting this evening!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I made it back and this chapter is a bit longer than the first one. I am just getting back into writing so I hope I can extend the text over time. Hope you liked it!  
Thank you so much for all the kudos! I was really flashed when I saw the hits and kudos on just this one chapter. It made me very happy! :D  
I would love to hear what you think about the story and exchange myself with you as well! So please leave a comment if you want to! :3


	3. Latex and needles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Foul language as usual, but this time there is some sexual harassment. (only verbally)  
I wasn't sure of "a person's" pronouns, so I chose they. :)

The street was dark and lined with street lamps to both sides, some of them broken, some just barely luminiferous. It had rained in the afternoon, making the asphalt shimmer in the dim white light and the layer of clouds covering the sky still hadn’t retreated. Red and orange sparks flashed up in the distance from time to time, generated by the headlights of cars rushing down the main road in the distance. It was a path you wouldn’t want to walk down alone, let alone by night. The teeing alleyways promised hands darting out of the shadows of the buildings surrounding them.

Gavin leaned against the edge of one of those corner houses, the cigarette between his fingers glowing in the dark. He watched the pulsing reflexion of the bright red sign forming a passionflower in a puddle across the street, whose original was hanged above the club. Smoke filled his lungs and the nicotine soothed his nerves. Maybe today was the day he could finally finish this case. The last victim had been dead for a few days, but it was unlikely that the murderer would strike again tonight, that short after the previous crime. Still, he hoped that he would get unwary, because of the police supposedly not being on his heels at the moment and felt safe enough to carry on his actions so they could catch him flatfooted.

“Detective, this is your third cigarette this evening already. I strongly recommend you to stop.”, a deep voice said behind him, which he instantly recognised as his android partner’s. It was a little darker than Conner’s, although they sounded very similar. The mechanically produced resemblance of the two robots sent a cold shiver down his back, making him ask himself why nobody else was bothered about the shining twins.

Gavin looked over his shoulder and took another ostentatious drag of the stub. Nines stood close behind him, the hands folded behind his back. The white jacket reflected the little light brightly, but the blue triangle and strap around his upper arm stood out nonetheless. Detective Reed turned around to exhale the smoke into the taller man’s face. “Back off, tin can.”

“I’m sorry.”, the android replied, stepping back a bit. He hadn’t even blinked. “I didn’t want to invade your personal space.” It was fascinating how he managed to sound sarcastic as well as the sincerest and politest person to ever exist at the same time.

“I’d be a little more careful what you suggest to your supervisor.”

“Well, actually we’re partners, Detective. So I hope we could establish a better and ... more professional work relationship.”

Gavin chuckled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “You wish.”, he said as he passed Nines to go back to the black van parked a few feet away. The android watched him put the rest of the cigarette in a small metal box for a second before following on his heels.

A small team of officers was gathered behind the car, testing and checking electronic devices needed for the mission. Inside the van, monitors flashed from time to time and filled the interior with colourful lights. Everyone was quiet, yet the tension in the air was almost touchable. These were experienced people just following their routines, but operations like this somehow were unnerving every single time, even for long term detectives like Gavin.

“Everything ready to go? Where is the microphone and the body cam?”, he asked while jumping up into the car. Tina glanced up from one of the laptops she had spread around her. A middle-aged woman in uniform held up both devices, but right when she tried to speak she was interrupted.

“Detective Reed?”

“Yes, god dammit, what is it now?!”

Nines hesitated for a moment before he spoke his concerns out loud. “I don’t think you should be the one to go in there for this mission. You-”

“Oh great!”, Gavin called out unbelieving of what he just heard. “Now it tries to tell me how to do my fucking job! And why is that so, Nines?! Do you think a machine would be better at this?”

The android kept quiet for a second, his bright blue eyes blinking unsettled and a bit resentful in the dark. “No, it’s just that they know you being a police detective in there.”

Everyone fell silent. Somebody could have dropped a needle and it would be hearable. Gavin felt anger pooling in his stomach, but he knew Nines got a point in that. And the rest of his team knew too.

“They won’t even remember my face, let alone that I am working for the DPD! Everybody in there is drunk as fuck. They will only have eyes for the robot-bimbos!”, he argued, although he knew it went against all logic. If only this stupid thing would stop questioning his authority in front of everyone!

“Gav?” Tina put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I think this one time Richard is right. If there is just one person with a clear mind left in there, the whole mission is going to fail.”

“If you allow it, I will take on this undercover operation.”, Nines said calmly, but that only had the opposite effect.

“Phck no! I won’t let you destroy what I’ve worked for for months!” Gavin clenched his fists and glared down at the android from the van when Tina spun him around to make him look at her. She moved her head in the direction of the car’s interior, pulling him away from the group’s attention.

“Calm down. He is our best bet to catch this fucker and you know that. Doesn’t that count in the end? Getting him?” The detective was still angry, but his mind started to clear up after he didn’t have to look at that plastic prick’s face anymore. “Don’t let this cloud your reasonable thinking.”

“Yeah, okay, I got it!”, he snapped at her. Looking back at the others he shook his head. “I swear to god, if he fucks this up, he will be sent back to Cyberlife in pieces.”

“You will make sure of it, I know, but I think he can handle this.” Tina gave him a small smile before Gavin jumped out of the van, heading for the android.

“Okay, tin can, you’ve got the job. Just don’t mess up.”

Nines looked down at him, maybe even a little surprised. “Thank you, Detective Reed. I will make sure to complete my mission successfully.”

“Fine, but you will only do what I tell you over the earpiece, understood? If I see you move without my permission you will end up on the junkyard!” The robot man didn’t reply, but his LED circled as he processed the instructions. “Besides you can’t go like this. This thing is way too suspicious.” Gavin flicked the rim of the white jacket. His opposite looked down on himself with a blank expression as if he didn’t understand what was wrong with his clothes. When he suddenly started to take off the jacket along with his tie to fold them neatly, his partner got a little startled. Nines undid the first three buttons on his black shirt and ruffed up his hair with one hand, making a few strands fall over his LED a bit.

“Better?”, he asked while rolling up his sleeves.

“So you do have a neck after all.”, the detective snorted, watching his partner and crossing his arms in front of his chest. “It has to do.” Now the android looked a lot more like a person, the stiffness only left in his movement, but barely noticeable. Gavin could have actually mistaken him for one of his colleagues if he didn’t knew. And if it weren’t for the fucking bright light in the middle of his temple.

“You have to cover that up. Too obvious.”

“I cannot turn it off, I am afraid.”

“Ugh, then –“ An idea flashed through Gavin’s head. “Hey, Tina! Do you have your purse with you?”

“No, I don’t! Why should I?”, she replied from the van. Her friend cursed.

“Anyone else? Someone has to have one with them!”

A small voice rose from between the officers. “I-I’ve got mine with me.”

“Perfect!” The detective rushed over to the small, brown haired woman. “Give it to me, please.”

At first she just looked at him with big eyes, uncertain if she had understood him right. She then handed it over to him hesitantly. Gavin rummaged around in the turquoise bag that was filled with a lot of stuff. When he didn’t find what he was looking for, he turned it on its head impatiently, causing all the things to fall out. Tissues, a little brush, a key, a pair of headphones, everything scattered on the floor. A little gasp escaped the purse’s owner, but she didn’t dare to intervene.

“Ah, there it is!”, Detective Reed called out the moment he spotted what he was looking for. He thrusted the bag back into the woman’s hand to pick up a small shiny object. It was a little make-up kit to cover up redness or irritation on your face. Rushing back to Nines he pressed it into his palm.

“There you go. Cover up your yellow pimple.” The android’s LED had turned golden from watching the scene with the female officer. He didn’t respond to Gavin’s unfortunate joke nor did he seem impressed by it or his partner’s smug grin. Applying the beige colour to his temple with his fingers he gave the kit back to its owner. The LED was still visible, but now you had to take a very close look to identify what it was.

“Thank you, Officer Jones, for lending us this.” The female officer nodded in his direction and rushed to pick up her things from the ground before a colleague who just approached could crush them.

“Richard, here’s your camera and the earpiece.” The android gestured at the man offering him the devices in a declining manner.

“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary.” When he saw the officer’s and detective’s doubting faces, he clarified the situation. “I’m equipped with all of these features.”

“Of course you are.” Gavin rolled his eyes. How could he forget he was talking to a freaking machine, even though it looked a bit more human at the moment.

Nines walked over to the van and started talking to Officer Chen. “The number is 313 248 317 – 87. With this you can connect my program to the monitors. You will see and hear what I do and communicate without a salient earpiece.”

Detective Reed approached the car slowly, because he had gotten a little curious – but only a tiny bit. He climbed up behind his friend to watch her type in the number. “Is that your serial number?”

“Yes. It can be used as a direct contact code to androids. Like ...” Nines thought off a fitting comparison for a second. “Like a telephone number. If camera and microphone are enabled, you get video transmission as well. But it’s only possible for the latest models.”

“Uh-huh.”, Gavin answered sceptically. As he looked to the side he could suddenly see himself on the screen, framed by some dark lashes. The picture went black for a second the moment Nines blinked. His face was tense and the bags under his eyes heavier than he had expected which made him look very gruff. “Alright, let’s get to work. We don’t have all night.”

The whole thing made Gavin really uncomfortable. Connecting Nines senses to the computer and seeing what he could see was creeping him out.

“I will stay in contact. Until later, detective. Officer Chen.” The dark haired android nodded in their direction before he left to walk over to the strip club. They could see the big sign saying ‘the red passion’ on the monitor and hear his footsteps on the wet asphalt.

“Man, this is weird. Explain again how you did this.”, Gavin vented while watching Tina’s fingers fly over the keyboard to set up the program for communication.

“It’s actually really simple. You just have to connect the two services – Richard and this one on the laptop - with each other per a special signal. His serial number works like a phone number so we can call him. If he answers, we can talk.”

“Alright, nerd.” Detective Reed gave her a little smile she technically couldn’t see, but it didn’t matter. It was hearable in his words.

“Oh, it starts!”, she called out to catch Gavin’s attention. Nines had entered the stripbar and looked around slowly. The dim lit room was filled with people, most of them male, who sat around tables or at the bar. Some platforms with poles were installed in the middle on which some female androids dressed in red and black leather danced seductively. Their bodies were flawless, rounded but slim at the same time and without any marks on smooth skin. Every step, every move had been perfected, making them fly around the pole as if it was the easiest thing to do. Shiny leather tops and lingerie flashed up in the rotating lights from time to time.

“What a perv.”, Gavin chuckled. “I bet he just got some android fantasies!”

Tina peered up at him. “You know he can hear you, right?”

“As if I care! It has to do a job, not enjoy the view!”, he answered, but the slight redness on his face gave him away.

It seemed like Nines had actually heard them, because he continued to walk over to the bar, sitting down on one of the stools. Behind the counter a beautiful red headed android mixed some drinks for the guests demanding more.

“Hey sweetie! Bring us more! And hurry up!”, one of them called from a few places away. As he laughed a lewd laugh his friend sitting next to him patted his shoulder. Both men were drunk a lot, their noses red as well as their eyes. They must have been at the bar for quite some time. The woman rushed to them, bringing them what they wanted.

“Are those tidies real?”, one of them asked, looking at her chest almost drooling. The other one started laughing.

“Brad, why do you even ask? Of course they’re not! She’s an android, don’t you remember? Nothing about her is real.” Both of them almost screamed while they laughed. It was an unpleasant wheezing sound.

“God dammit, Jerry, I sure do! I always forget, because of these beauties around here!”

Behind Nines, some tables away, somebody dropped his bottle by accident which led everyone to turn their heads at the loud noise. The android used the time to report back to the others.

“There currently are eleven suspects possible of being the murderer regarding the body height. Three of them have registered previous convictions, four can’t be identified yet.”

“Okay Richard, try to identify the rest and keep your guard up.”, Tina responded. Gavin was tensed as he watched the screen showing how the android peeked over his shoulder.

“Hey, Mr. Plastic, you’re being too suspicious! You have to act like a normal person for once, got it? Get yourself a drink, or do whatever, just don’t just sit there.”

Nines didn’t reply, but he obviously understood, because he turned around and raised a hand to get the bartender’s attention.

“Something hard, please.” The red-head looked him up and down.

“Had a rough day, huh? Looks like you escaped some fancy meeting.”, she chuckled while pointing at the man’s formal clothes with her chin. Getting a glass for a shot from the cupboard behind her she threw him a sympathetic smile.

“You’re telling me. Boss has been a real dick recently.”

“Oh, what has he done?” She placed the glass in front of Nines and poured him a dark red liquid.

“Thinks he can boss everyone around like he wants to. And he doesn’t see how he keeps me from achieving anything with his dumb decisions.”

“Phck, you little –“ Gavin was shushed by his friend before he could say anything else.

The female android watched Nines as he shifted the drink. “Sounds like a real asshole.” The detective’s fingers bored themselves into the back of Tina’s chair.

“Phew, what is that?”, the robot man asked twisting his face.

“Passiflora, special shot of the house. Ingredients are secret though.” She winked at him flirtatiously.

“Uh-huh, I think I’d rather have a beer.”

“As you wish.”

The disguised android nodded in her direction before turning around to observe the room again. A few people stood around one of the poles, watching a pretty girl with tanned skin and blonde hair. She swung herself up, spreading her legs in the process. Although she wore a something under her skirt the small crowd cheered. On the other end of the bar, a few feet away from the men that had harassed the bartender earlier, stood a person with a hood over their head which made it impossible to see their face. They caught Nines attention immediately, because everyone else had removed their jacket or sweater due to the warm temperature inside, however not this one. The drink in front of them was untouched. When the person stood up, the android did as well, copying their movement. They threw some money on the counter and got ready to leave the bar. The dark haired robot almost sank down on his stool again, seeing them make their way to the door through the people, but then he saw something silvery flash up in the spotlight. Shoving one of the men on the shoulder they rammed a small needle into his upper hip.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!”, the man called Brad yelled angrily, too drunk to even register the injection. Nines jumped to his feet and started to follow the person through the crowd of people separating him from the suspect.

“Shit, there he is! He actually did it again!”, Gavin shouted as he watched the monitor. Turning around to the other officers he clapped his hands. “Guys, prepare yourselves! Looks like he got him! And someone call an ambulance. A poor jerk just got a shot of thirium!” Everyone started to get to work and the detective watched them collect the last things, when he heard a voice call from the screen.

“Hey, handsome! You forgot to pay!”

“Phck.” Not only he had heard the bartender call for the android, but the suspect as well. The hooded person looked back and when they saw Nines push through the crowd towards them, they started to run for the door.

“We’ll get him. Stay where you are, Nines!”, Gavin commanded, but the android didn’t even think about stopping, instead he rushed after the killer. “Nines! I said stop! Nines!” He now yelled at the screen angrily, though he knew he wouldn’t listen. The murderer had already left the bar, the robot close on his heels. Detective Reed cursed before jumping out of the van to chase after both, ignoring Tina’s anxious calls. He had to get them, on one hand to arrest the murderer and on the other to detain this defect piece of plastic before it got itself destroyed. Even though he would be glad to dump this asshole for good, he wasn’t very keen on having to explain what happened or fill out a report.

When Gavin reached the street and turned to run after them, it was really hard to recognise Nines in the dark. The back of his black shirt was swallowed by the shadows of the buildings and only detectable when he happened to pass a streetlight. The detective’s footsteps echoed on the asphalt spreading before him like black gum as he rushed after his partner. Damn this fucker was quick. Cyberlife hadn’t exaggerated when they had promised the fastest android they’ve ever built.

The killer disappeared into a small even darker alley, Nines close behind him. Gavin could only hope that he would get the suspect before they could escape into the web of streets in this area. Grabbing for his gun he turned the corner a few moments later and raised it in case of a surprise attack. The fleeing person punched the android across the face to free themselves from the grip he got in their jumper, yet the robot didn’t express any pain while his head flew to the side, hit by the momentum. He calmly turned his head back and pressed the person to the ground with their hands on their back. Although they struggled a lot to break free, they didn’t seem like much of a fighter.

“You’re arrested by Detroit Police, you have the right to remain silent.”

“Let me go, you rusted dummy!”, a female voice emerged from under the hoddie still covering their face. Gavin raised his eyebrows surprised at that. He crouched down to pull back the hood and revealed the face of a maybe forty years old woman framed by tangled orange hair.

“Detective, could you pass me some hand-cuffs?” The android jolted him out of his observation, reminding him that he still had to pick a bone with his so called partner.

“Here.” As he gave him the cuffs, Tina and some other officers rushed around the corner.

“Thank god, you caught ... her. The others got the area surrounded just in case.” One of the police men went over to relieve Nines from the woman and guided her towards a car nearby. “Why did you go alone? This could have been dangerous if she had had a weapon.”, Tina asked, aiming at Gavin.

“Don’t ask me! This piece of tin was the one running away on its own!” A wave of anger rolled over the detective as he gestured in the robot’s direction. His friend recognised the expression on his face instantly and looked back and forth between them.

“Alright, I will wait at the police car.”, she said, retrieving from the tensed situation.

Before Nines could even twitch he found himself pressed against the brick wall with Gavin seizing his collar and his of rage distorted face just centimetres away from his own.

“Listen closely, dipshit. I am the human here, so when I tell you to stop, you do it without questioning my order! Don’t believe just because you helped with the case we are equal now. _You_ are my little bitch as long as you are at the DPD, understood?!”

The android didn’t get the time to answer; instead he was forcefully pushed back again. He watched his partner walk away towards the rest of the team, leaving him in the dark alleyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made it on time, wohoo! :D  
Please have some more of -cursing like a sneezing kitten- Gavin and disobedient Nines! If this were in the game, you could imagine Nines having a big red arrow pointing down for his relationship with Gavin. :D  
Also, Gavin may be an asshole from time to time, but he sure looks after his environment and doesn't litter it. Responsible Gavin is responsible. :D
> 
> I'm really enjoying myself writing this fic at the moment and especially because of all the nice comments and kudos! Talking to you is just as fun as putting this story on paper!  
Have a great week and until (hopefully) next weekend :)


	4. Embers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I finally made it back! Sorry that I only now get to update, work starts to get more at the moment. Still I have a lot of fun writing and communicating with you in the comments. Enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer for this chapter: -Discription of someone getting addicted to drugs  
-Violence

“Why did you do it?” The question disrupted the leady silence hanging over the interrogation room. “Why killing three, almost four men?” Again, it was answered by stillness. Gavin leaned back on his chair, keeping quiet for a moment to survey the suspect in front of him. The woman they had arrested earlier this morning sat across the table, arms crossed in front of her chest, her stone-cold face turned away from him. She stared at the ground even though there was nothing other than the grey linoleum floor. Her appearance stood in such a contrast to her expression as well as her actions that it was hard to believe that this was the person he had chased after for weeks. Soft orange curls spread around her head wildly, her round face covered in sympathetic freckles on fair skin. Still there were obvious signs of drug use. She was a lot thinner than what was called normal and the shadows under her eyes dominated her face.

The detective sighed and shook his head. “I can do this all day, you know. Of course I can get myself a coffee and something to eat in between, but apart from that ...” Even though this didn’t get her to talk, she looked up and glared at him as if she wanted to burn him right on the spot. Behind himself Gavin heard the sound of the door being unlocked and opening with a faint hiss.

“Gavin, I –“

“Not now, Chris. Don’t interrupt us.”, Gavin said without turning around or leaving the woman out of his sight.

“But you’re in here for over half an hour and-“

“I said, not now. Leave.”

He heard the young officer hesitate for a moment, but eventually he closed the door again.

“Where were we ... ah, right, you being stuck in here!” Still no response, instead a long pause. “Alright, let me go through what we have.”, he said and reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out the small silver syringe wrapped in a plastic bag. Putting it on the table along with the photos of the victims he looked back up. “This is the shot you used on Mr. Riley back at the red passion. The quick analysis revealed that it contained blue blood from a WR400, coincidentally the same model that was reported missing a few days before the first murder.”

The woman didn’t say a word, she just stared at him with the ghost of a smile on her lips.

“Oh, I see. You don’t think we have proof because you wore gloves and didn’t leave any fingerprints.” Gavin observed her face as he said that. “Unfortunately I have to inform you, that the technology used by the police has evolved. The officer following you, you know, the tall one with the harsh face that got you in the end? That’s an android. Everything he saw was recorded.” The smile vanished. “He also scanned you, so without even talking to you we know your name is Monica Ericson, you’re 42 years old and a former chemist. While we are talking, a team of officers is searching your flat and I bet it will be very interesting what they are going to find there. You see, we don’t want to talk to you, because we need more information or a confession. We have everything to lock you up. I just want to know why you did it. And in that I give you the chance of being cooperative, so maybe your penalty won’t be as bad as it is right now.”

The red haired woman tried to act as if she was unaffected by all this, but you could see her hands tremble and her eyelids fluttered.

“I understand that you hate androids, really, I get it. Destroying one is one thing, but taking human lives?”, Gavin said in a calm and sincerely asking voice. The suspect’s eyes rushed from picture to picture and over to the jab on the table. The shaking of her hands got so bad she had to put them under her legs, although it seemed more out of rage than fear.

“You don’t know how this is. How this feels.”, she hissed between her teeth.

“How what is?” Detective Reed leaned closer towards the table, not letting her out of his sight.

“Four men. Four. One more false than the other.” There was a slight tremble in her voice as she spoke. “Every single one of them left me for a plastic whore. Humiliated me. Dishonoured me.”, she said, spitting out the words.

“You were in relationships with these men?”

“Yes. First there was David.” Monica looked at the photo of the first victim and sighed. He had been found next to the toilet, covered in vomit. “At first it was wonderful. But then he introduced me to red ice and I didn’t want to be prude. I took my first puff. For him.” She smiled down on the second picture of a pale man on his bed. “When he left me I found comfort in the drug and James arms. He wasn’t that much of an addict, but he was a whoremonger. The early flings I could forgive. Then he decided to visit that stripbar and after that I became redundant. By that I had already lost my job in the laboratory, because of drug abuse at the workplace. An android got my job. I was at the lowest point of my life and met Henry. He seemed to be so ... different. When I found out he went to that same club I confronted him. High as he was he started to tell me that these plastic sluts were just better than me, prettier, thinner, sexier in bed. After that I needed a break for a while. Trying to collect the pieces that were my life I started to visit a support-group.” She licked her lips and huffed, tears dwelling in her eyes. “There I was introduced to Brad. I was naive enough to think we could make it together. Get clean and start all over. And for a few weeks it looked like it worked, except that it never did. He became recidivist and dragged me down with him. It got worse and worse and then I noticed how he left at night when he thought I was asleep. Did you know you can select and order one of these sex puppet for a night online? Very discreet, not as much as Brad has been. He had ordered a few robot prostitutes to a hotel room over the last weeks. Using the money we had saved together for a new start.” She stared at the top of the silver table where her hands were shackled to. The chain rattled as she moved. “That was just one too much. I mean, everybody got their limit. This was mine. I went from being one of the best chemists at my workplace to a broke and cheated on drug addict! They didn’t care about my intelligence or my personality. All they wanted was to fuck some pretty plastic puppets with perfect hair and perfect bodies and perfect tits.” When she looked up into Gavin’s eyes it felt as if she had locked their vision and didn’t want to let him go. “So, yes, I decided to kill them. They had to die, because they ruined my life. They ruined _me_.”

Gavin kept quiet for a moment while staring back at her. “That wasn’t fair, I understand you. But that still doesn’t justify what you’ve done.”

“Understand me? Understand?! How could you talk about understanding my situation?! You don’t look like the type that has ever fallen in love before!”

“Well, no, I’m not, yet I know what unfairness means. Guess what, that’s life. You don’t have to become a murderer because of it, that was only _your_ choice.”, he answered, shrugging his shoulders. Gavin got up from his chair and gathered the evidence on the table. He was done here and got everything he needed. Just as he turned around, ready to leave the interrogation room, Monica slammed her hands on the metal surface.

“They humiliated me! Not only because they cheated on me, no, but they underestimated me. They forgot that I was clever, no matter the drugs. And that was their biggest mistake. I am not just some woman you can toss aside like a toy. So I ordered the same android slut Brad had slept with the last and I cracked it open like a nut. I knew what thirium can cause and that an overdose would be lethal. It was the perfect opportunity to beat them at their own game, to give them what they deserved and stay undetected at the same time.”

“Then why did you leave a message? Your plan wasn’t quite thought through.”, Gavin asked while turning around to her half way. The freckled woman stayed silent for a second before answering.

“They used to tell me I wasn’t worth to be loved. That I am nothing. I had to set it straight. To tell them they were wrong and that it wasn’t me who was repulsive.” Gavin froze in his motions as she expressed that. He had heard these words before, even though not exactly like this. Carlos Ortiz’s android from the interrogation a few days prior had said almost the exact same thing when it was asked for its motive to write ‘I am alive’ on the wall. He tried to ignore the weird feeling in his guts that started to spread. “I had to leave that message for him.”

The detective turned around to her fully, pulled out of his thoughts. “Him? Who is him? The whole time you talked about ‘them’.” Monica looked at him like she just blew a secret she shouldn’t have talked about. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell shut. “Who are you talking about?!”

Gavin’s loud voice seemed to wake her up, although her face had a pained expression. “Ah, fuck it.”, she sighed. “There was this man on the phone. He called me after David and James were dead, I don’t know how he got my number. He talked to me as if we would know each other, calling me by my first name. His voice was very ... calming and he told me that he could truly understand me and that I was doing the right thing.”

“What was his name?”

“I don’t know, he just introduced himself as Embers. He said I should continue to send a message to the people out there and that if I would want to carry on with changing the world, I should join him. I was sceptic at first, though he was very convincing. He assured me that I would find my place and that he would send a message himself soon so I could figure out if I wanted to join.”

“Join what?”

Monica looked up at him, chewing on her lip. “I don’t know what it meant, but he said I would understand soon enough. He told me that I would become a wave in ‘the tides’.”

* * *

The sound of the door closing behind him made Gavin suck in the air through his nose as if he had held his breath. He was used to the interrogation room, but that didn’t mean he liked it. The grey walls and the cold silvery glass that was actually a one sided window from the other room reminded him of unpleasant times gone by.

“You can lock her up in one of the cells until they come to pick her up. Shouldn’t take any longer than till tomorrow.”, he told Chris Miller, one of his rather younger, yet very dedicated colleagues. The officer nodded in his direction and walked towards the room, but as he passed Gavin he was held back by him on his arm. “Listen, I know you assess the situation in your own way. But when I’m in there, interrogating a suspect, no matter how long it will take ...” He looked up into Chris eyes, pinning him in place with his eyebeam. “... You don’t interrupt me. Ever. You won’t do this again, do you understand me?”

“Yes, understood. Won’t happen again.” His face and his voice were calm and stable, but his nervous hands revealed how stressed he actually was.

“Fine.”, Gavin said, patting the younger man’s shoulder before letting him go. Chris walked past him and entered the room.

“Well done, detective. The interrogation was successful.” Nines had stood in the hallway, waiting for the police men to finish talking. His appearance had changed back to the high-necked android Gavin had been introduced to; shirt closed to the very last button, white jacket and tie in place, blue LED glowing on his temple. The only thing not sitting perfectly was a strand of dark brown hair falling over his forehead.

“Thanks, Ken.”

“That’s not my-“

“Do you prefer to be called Barbie?”

Nines fell silent as he understood what Gavin was referring to.

“Any news on the dude from the red passion? Brad?”

“Yes, he’s in the hospital, but nothing sincere happened. The Police intercepted in time, so he couldn’t smoke red ice. Only then the amount would have been lethal. They cleaned his blood from the thirium and warned him not to consume any substances containing thirium for the next days.”

“Hm, let’s see if the stoner abides by this agreement or if we have to collect the next corpse soon.”, Gavin mumbled, more to himself than to the android. “How did you know about this?”

“I have access to his clinical record.”

“Of course you do.” The sarcasm in his voice caused Nines to lay his head to the side. There was a short pause while he decided what to say next before suddenly changing the subject.

“You lied to her in there, didn’t you? We didn’t have enough evidence to connect her to the other murders. We needed her confession.”

“Ever heard of a bluff?” Detective Reed rolled his eyes.

“Yes, I only wanted to point out that this was a very risky procedure. I wouldn’t have done that. You had a 60% rate of failing.”

“It worked, didn’t it? So stop prattling.”

“But why did you scold Officer Miller then if you weren’t scared that he could have revealed your method. You were really harsh with him.”

“Oh, that’s nothing!”, a voice said from behind the hallway’s wall. Tina emerged from around the corner and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Should have seen him in police academy. Chris is one of his favourites, believe me. He even allows him to call him by his first name.”

“Tina, please.”

“Sorry, Gav, but you really were a bit unfair to Chris. Heard it as I came down here. He admires you, you know.”

“What? No.”

“I think so too, detective.”, Nines added. “When we were watching you from behind the window he talked about how great you are at your job and how well you handled the suspect.”

“See?” The asian woman smiled at her friend that tightened his eyebrows. “You are good at what you’re doing and the others notice that. Don’t put them off.”

“Tina, could we please don’t talk about this in front of the toaster?” Gavin’s voice revealed that he started to get bugged. He was just really uncomfortable at the moment. Someone talking shit about him he could handle, but compliments? He didn’t know how to react to that.

“If it’s just a toaster, why worry?” She shrugged while backing away. “See you tomorrow. I’ll catch some sleep now.”

Detective Reed watched her as she left the DPD on her way to the parking lot. The station was almost empty, only a few people lingered around after the operation this early in the morning. The lights were only just now starting to go on.

“Do you wish to retrieve for some rest as well?”

“No, I’m not tired.”, he answered without turning around.

“It’s five o’clock in the morning.” The android tried to reason him, but he didn’t get very far.

“Yeah, perfect time for some early exercise.”

“Your sleep schedule is very unhealthy, detective. You’ve been awake for at least 23 hours by now.”

“You can go get cosy if you need your beauty sleep, I will get in some training.” Gavin put his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and started to walk down the hallway.

“Androids don’t sleep.”

“Shit, really? That’s creepy”, he huffed and looked over his shoulder. The robot followed him slowly.

“We do have a sleep mode to check our system and run updates. But we don’t need to lay down for that.”

“So you’re just staying at the DPD over night, standing in the hallways like fucking ghosts?”

“Not quite how I would express it, but yes.”

“Brr, thanks for warning me not to come to work early if I don’t want to die of a heart attack.”

Gavin stopped in front of a door saying ‘training room’. He pulled the syringe out of his pocket and pressed it into Nines hands together with the file. “Make yourself useful then and bring this to the evidence room. I want you back in five minutes.”

The android looked at him a little confused. “Why?”

“I have to celebrate finally solving this case somehow, don’t I?”

* * *

The punching bag oscillated from side to side as the momentum of the punch transferred itself onto it. Gavin’s padded fists flew onto the smooth black surface, compelling the big sand filled bag to swing away from him. He had solved the case that kept him awake the last few weeks, but somehow he couldn’t feel the sense of relief like usual. It bugged him that of all things it had to be the android that found the crucial evidence, even though he knew it would have been impossible for himself. Nines went into the red passion and Nines was the one catching the suspect. The stupid android started to replace him even through just working with him. Yes, he got the confession, but the robot had been right. Bluffing had been very risky. Gavin only got it by pure luck and that scared him. Monica Ericson’s words echoed in his head: _I became redundant_. Another fist hit the bag with such a force that it made the chains holding it to the ceiling clatter. She had told him almost the exact same thing Ortiz’s android had told Connor a few days ago. Both machine and human had argued in the same way and the resemblance of what they had expressed was creeping him out. On top of that he solved one case, but got a new riddle in return. This guy, Embers, was worrying him. People speaking in riddles never planned something good. He thought he could just check off this case as a jealous woman killing these men to get revenge. But now it got a whole other turn. And he couldn’t find out anything more about this weird person, because the file was officially closed. Besides there neither was any evidence of something illegal going on nor a trace to follow, yet Gavin’s gut told him that something was off. All this combined together, the damn android, the weird turn of the case and he being clueless of what to think of this made him confused and therefore angry. He hated not to be in control of a situation, straying through the mist aimlessly. The detective released his emotions at the sand bag in front of him.

When Nines entered the training room Gavin was already sweaty and out of breath.

“What took you so long?”

“I talked to Connor. He just informed me about yesterdays mission with Lieutenant Anderson. He reported about the alarming willingness of deviants to destroy themselves so they don’t get caught. Yesterday they cased an AX400 with a little girl across the highway, but it managed to escape. In the afternoon the hideout of another deviant was located and Connor was able to catch it, yet it jumped off a roof while the Lieutenant argued with him.”

“Anderson messing up an investigation? Why doesn’t that surprise me at all.”, Gavin snorted, grabbing a towel from the bench behind him and wiping his face with it. He had changed his jeans for some shorts while keeping his grey-green shirt, just without the leather jacket.

“He was angry that Connor rather continued to chase the deviant and for that left him hanging over an edge.”

“He did what?!”

“Well, according to Connor there was an 89% change for the Lieutenant to get up by himself, so he made the decision with the most successful outcome for the mission.”

“Phck. That’s messed up.”

“No, it’s just how our programs work. The order always has priority.”

The detective tightened the fasteners on his MMA gloves, examining the machine’s face. He didn’t know if he should be scared of this thing or not, nevertheless its stone cold precision and calculated actions reminded him of something he had sworn himself never to think about again. And this fucker made it impossible to push it to the back of his head. “So, let’s see what you’ve got.”

“Detective?”, Nines asked as he saw Gavin raise his fists in front of his chin.

“Come on, I want to see Cyberlife’s best model in action. Show me.”

“Detective Reed, that’s not a good-“ The android had to duck away under Gavin’s fist flying towards his face. “idea.”

“You scared?” The detective launched into the next swing, but the android dodged it skilfully.

“No, but _you_ could seriously injure yourself.”

“In your place I wouldn’t worry so much about me.” He tried to move closer in order to get Nines into his range, yet the android backed away from him. “Come on, dipshit, show me what you’ve got.”

“Detective, I have to repeat myself. I wouldn’t recommend fighting against an android with a combat system.” The serious expression on Nines face and his raised hands couldn’t convince the police detective.

“I don’t care about your _recommendations_.”, he laughed. “I want you to fight against me without holding back. That’s an order!” The moment Gavin grabbed the collar of the white jacket everything happened extremely fast. Nines rammed his elbow into the crook of the detective’s arm, causing his opponent to stumble closer abruptly. With his arms trapped Gavin didn’t have the time to react before the metal elbow met his cheekbone and hit him across the face. Pain exploded on the right side of his head and filled it with dizziness while his vision went blurry for a second. When he felt Nines fingers bore themselves into his shoulders he knew what was coming and just had enough time to tense his abs and move backwards, away from the android’s knee aiming for his stomach. It still hit him, but it wasn’t as bad as if it had hit him unprepared. That gave Gavin enough time to bust the robot’s grip on his shirt and the opportunity to start a counterattack. Aiming for the jaw he shot up his fist, landing a hit that hurt his knuckles more than it should. Nines head flew up and he made a step back, leaving him unprotected so that the detective could lunge out a second time. He misjudged the taller one’s reaction time and only brushed his nose, because the android pulled back his head at the right moment. Still it was powerful enough to get a gruesome sound out of the artificial bone and some of the blue substance powering his system ran out of his nose to drip on the padded floor. Nines hit Gavin on the ear with the palm of his hand faster than anyone could react, making the man’s ears sing. Losing his orientation detective Reed stumbled backwards to hold his buzzing head. To his surprise there wasn’t another hit what gave him time to collect himself. When he looked up he saw Nines who stood a few feet away, looking at the liquid smeared over the hand he had held under his nose.

“That is enough.” The android pushed back a dark brown strand which had fallen out of his neat hairstyle during the fight. He turned to walk away from his opponent in order to end the conflict for good, but Gavin didn’t give a thought to that. He still was furious, though he didn’t even know why anymore.

“I decide when we’re finished!”, he yelled as he jumped to his feet and leaped at Nines, wrapping his arm around the robot’s throat from behind in the process. He tried to pull the tall one down, but he was stopped as something pointy hit his solar plexus unexpectedly. The android had swung his arm backwards in a short yet powerful motion, meeting the detective’s stomach with his elbow. Gavin’s eyes widened and for a moment he couldn’t breathe, though he gasped for air like a stranded fish. His grip around the other one’s neck loosened, offering an opportunity Nines took to grasp his wrist with one hand and hooked the other into the crook of his arm. The android made a one-eighty turn abruptly to pull Gavin’s arm to the side. He now stood next to the detective while holding his arm in a ninety degree angle away from the man’s body. With the thumb he pressed against the wrist along with pulling the elbow towards himself so that Gavin’s hand got bent over the line of his shoulder. It only was a very small movement, nevertheless it caused a dragging pain in the detective’s shoulder as well as tears dwelling in his eyes. With his lower arm in this position he couldn’t raise the strength to push against the twist, so he was forced to his knees to avoid his shoulder to be put out of joint. Nines continued to push it back until the flame raging in Gavin’s arm became almost unbearable, yet stopped as the man below him hissed in pain. All that happened in only a few seconds.

“Is it enough now?” Ice laid in the question as Nines spoke. He released the grip on his opponent and looked down at the suddenly laughing man.

“See, you actually are able to follow my orders! Well done for once!” Gavin stood up, rolling his shoulder to loosen the tension in the muscles. His joint still hurt a bit, though his cheek burned worse. Somehow he had expected to lose this fight, just not in this way. “You can go stand in a hallway now or whatever you do for fun.” Grabbing for his towel he walked towards the changing room without looking back at the android again, missing how its LED flickered yellow and its eyelids fluttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Software Instability! This human is weird.  
I hoped you liked the chapter and sorry again that it took me so long. :)  
Gavin is more of a 'punsh to the face' type of fighter in this whereas Nines uses a more tactical stile, of course to be efficient. :D He uses Krav Maga, a self defense technique originated by the mossad and now used all over the world. It's supposed to be extremely fast and effective to disarm your opponent before they can react so it doesn't matter who is stronger or taller. I wrote this on the few knowledge I have from my own experience, because I practiced it myself for a while.  
Hope you could enjoy this and please continue to leave comments! :) They really keep me going! Have a nice time til the next update!


	5. The Tides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I'm back! Please excuse the long silence and thank you to everbody who read and left kudos while I was absent. I had a lot to do and unfortunately there was a death in my family. With all of that coming together my creativity and motivation just were really low for a while. I'm feeling better though now and look forward to work on the story again. Merry Christmas to everyone who is celebrating and have a wonderful time with your families!

“Phck you!” Gavin spat out. He struggled against the rope around his hands shackling him to the chair. The tall blonde woman spun her head around in a complete rotation. A beak grew out of the face where her nose and mouth should have been and her eyes were large and orange like the one’s of an owl, like glowing embers in the sockets.

“That’s why he didn’t want you anymore. You are useless, a burden and you have a foul mouth. It was obvious he was going to replace you someday.”

“Shut up! You know nothing about me or him!”

The bird woman laid her head to the side and stared him down with giant eyes. Behind her the tiles wandered off the interrogation room’s wall. Eyes blinked at him from the black and silver surface that was a double sided mirror.

“Oh no, you’re wrong. I know him better than you ever did. After all I am the one that took your place.”

A sudden knock on the door made her face fly to the side, but not before turning it 360 degrees around.

“Detective? Detective Reed!” The voice sounded familiar, though he didn’t know where from. “Open up, we have to go!” With that Gavin jolted up from his couch, heart racing. His phone got kicked to the ground as he suddenly raised his upper body and it skidded over the floor.

“Phck.” He wasn’t in the interrogation room anymore, in fact he had never been. Last night he must had fallen asleep in the living room, laying down fully dressed. Light beamed through the curtains on the other side of the room.

“Detective Reed, if you don’t open I have to break down this door.” The threat got Gavin to wake up a bit more.

“Alright, chill, tincan! I’m coming!” The detective swung his legs to the side, but had to stop before standing up, because his circulatory took a moment to catch up. He ran a hand over his face, groaning at the dull pain on his right cheek. Chasing away the last remains of the weird nightmare he got up and tottered towards the front door. As he opened it he had to squint his eyes at the bright sunlight falling into the apartment around a tall figure.

“Good afternoon, detective.” Nines was titivated as usual, contrasting the tired detective’s appearance of messy hair, crinkled clothes and unshaved three-days-beard. The dark red bruise forming on his cheekbone was highly prominent.

“Phck you.” He turned around on his heels to walk back into the living room in search of his jacket. “How did you know where I live?”

“Officer Chen told me.”

“Of course she did.” Gavin was way too tired to lay more emotion into his voice. “What’s up? I don’t think you just came here to look after me. New case?”

“That’s not clear yet. We were messaged about someone tied to the dock down by the port. It turned out to be an android and because Lieutenant Anderson and Connor are occupied with another deviant case, we have to check on this one.”

“Alright then, let’s go.” Gavin grabbed his leather jacket from the kitchen counter and ran a hand through his hair to set it in place as best as he could. Still, the dark shadows under his eyes dominated his face. “What’s that?”, he asked as he saw the car in front of his house.

“A police car.”, the android answered. “So we arrive at the scene simultaneously.”

Detective Reed sighed while throwing on his jacket. “Whatever. It’s too fucking early.”

“It’s three o’clock in the afternoon.”

“Shut up. I’m driving. And we’re gonna stop at a coffee shop before anything happens today.”

“As you wish, detective.”

* * *

The warmth of the dark brown beverage radiated through the cup and over Gavin’s hands clutching it. In the last few weeks it had gotten so cold that fingers got stiff and breath visible in the mornings and the days got chilly. A cool breeze blew over the pier, pulling at the detective’s clothes plus making his hair stand up from his skin.

“Gavin! Over here!” Turning his head he saw Chris walking over to him from a small crowd of officers barring the harbour from civilians.

“What do we got?”

“We don’t know much yet, it still hangs on the pillar and ...” The young officer stopped in the middle of his sentence as he noticed the red mark on Gavin’s face. “Shit, what happened to you?”

“Just some stupid bar fight. It’s nothing.” Nines, who stood next to the detective, eyed him from the side, but remained silent. “So, where is this thing?”

“Over there.” Chris pointed at one of the docks and went ahead of the detective and his partner. When they got closer to the rim, Gavin spotted some white motionless fingers that jutted out over it.

“Damn.” The android was bound to both pillars with one wrist each, making him hang down in the middle almost like a crucifixion, pulled down by his own weight. Skin and hair had been withdrawn completely so that the white panels he was compound of as well as the silver seams connecting them were showing. Its head laid on its chest, eyes closed. The dark green water rolling against it in small waves pushed the lifeless figure back and forth.

“Help me get it up.”, Detective Reed said to no one specific. Chris knelt down on one side, Gavin at the other to untie the rope on both hands. When they got it free, Nines helped to pull the body up on the planks. The unknown android’s bald head bounced on the wood as they put it down. Gavin only looked up for a brief moment, but he would have sworn that the LED on his partner’s temple flashed yellow for a second.

“This thing has seen better times.” Chris looked down on the machine, whose stomach plate had been removed. Its intestines were visible from chest to abdomen, the blue tubes containing the thirium running over and under themselves.

“Phck, what does that mean.”, Gavin asked while kneeling down next to it. Nines stared down at the shut down robot.

“The water damaged its insides. Androids are waterproof, but only if everything is closed off and nothing can get in.” He looked at the victim’s wrists where the rope had left marks on the artificial skin. “It was held here for quite some time. Probably from yesterday’s night until now.”

“Why that long?”

The android viewed his partner from above. “Because it took the tide a few hours to rise enough to reach its stomach’s height.” The two police men fell silent at that and looked down at the water filled guts of the machine.

“What a horrible way to go.”, Chris whispered.

“It’s an android. It doesn’t even feel pain or fear, let alone is able to die.” Gavin stood back up again, shaking his head.

“That’s right. Except ...”, Nines started.

“Except what?”

“Except it was deviant. Then the program could have simulated emotions. And sometimes pain.”

“You mean it could have hung here and feared for its l ... existence?”

Nines nodded as Gavin examined the pale figure. The wrists were blue and rubbed sore from the rope sliding over the skin.

“These marks. You only get them when you’re struggling to break free. The skin is so torn, that wouldn’t have happened if it only hung here.” He threw his partner a look. “Can non-deviant androids decide to break free?”

“Not if they have the order to stay and let it happen. When the order is articulated unmistakeable und clearly, androids have to obey to it no matter what was asked of them. The only possibility would be if there are conflicting orders. Then the android could prioritize one mission.”

“Shit.” Gavin didn’t want to admit how this creeped him out. The imagination of being tied to the dock in total darkness with the water rising under your feet and not being allowed to move twisted his insides. “The only thing I heard of was deviants running away or injuring their owners, not getting almost crucified.” He stood up and walked past both men watching him. “We should talk to its owner. Nines, find out who that is and hurry up.”

“Of course, Detective.” The LED flashed yellow for a few moments as the android scanned the face beneath him, but Gavin didn’t see that anymore. He walked along the pier, back towards the tall buildings towering over the harbour. Behind him he heard Chris mumbling something to Nines, though he didn’t care because his eyes caught a glimpse of an interesting graffiti on the brick wall of the warehouse in front of him. There were a lot, some overlapping each other, some artistic, some just black letters smeared on the bricks. The one raising Gavin’s attention wasn’t big or extremely colourful, rather simple and unobtrusive. A dark blue wave rolling itself together to a circle. Gavin thought it to be a little out of place in comparison to the other graffiti.

“What is it, detective?”

“Hm?” He turned his head to look over his shoulder. The android had his hands folded behind his back and mustered what he had been looking at. “Nothing. Just thought I’ve seen this before for a moment.” Gavin pushed up his collar to protect himself from the growing wind. “You know more about the plastic puppet and its owner?”

Nines took a second to answer, but then he pried his sight loose from the coloured wall. “Yes. It was a house android, model two years old. Registered as Tom to a man called George Wood. He lives in Warrendale. No previous convictions.”

“Warrendale? That’s on the other end of Detroit. Are you sure?”

“My scanning tool is intact, so yes, I am sure.”

Gavin threw him a look. “No need to get offended, tin can. Let’s go.” He didn’t let him respond something by walking away towards the police car. Nines stayed behind for a moment to pass Chris the address of the android’s owner, then he joined his partner in the car without a word. The detective put the car into first gear and started driving down the small alley a little bit rougher than normal. The vehicle jerked and stuttered forward before its driver found the right bite point to make it roll smoothly.

“Been some time driving a car.”, he mumbled, though his seatmate didn’t say anything, only glancing down to the left and allowing himself a subtle smirk. The android folded his hands on his lap as the joined the traffic on one of the main roads, lining up behind the other cars.

After a while they got stuck in a tailback of a very bad clocked traffic light that only allowed two or three cars to pass the crossroad before turning red again. Despite the coffee Gavin felt the sleepiness creeping up on him in this boring and silent environment without conversations or music, because the radio just played crap and this pillar of salt next to him being his only company. He supported his head with his fist, his arm rested on the small space between window and interior, cheek squished up by his hand. Why picking an android apart in such a precise way? Why not send it back or destroy it a normal way, instead driving across the whole town to torture and kill it almost ritualistic? The case didn’t make a lot of sense to him, but what did he know. Maybe these things drive you up the walls even worse when you have to live with one.

“Reed!” His yelled name and a blare from the driver behind him simultaneously made him jolt up out of his relaxed position on the window while his heart was sent racing. He had only closed his eyes for a second, but now he grabbed the steering wheel with both hands so that his knuckles turned white.

“Phck. What a jerk. Just rested my eyes a little.”, he said, his heart still beating fast as he closed the gap between them and the car in the front.

“Yes, it’s called sleeping! Detective, you are really sleep deprived. I would strongly recommend changing seats, if we want to arrive in one piece.” The suppressed anger in Nines voice was still hearable, even though he tried his best to be polite. That annoyed Gavin even more.

“A machine driving a machine? No, thank you! I’d rather crash into a wall than let you take the wheel!”

“That’s unreasonable! I am perfectly equipped with a driving system and can get us there 85% more safe than a human could.”

Gavin laughed a mean laugh. “I don’t give a fuck, Nines! You know what? _I_ can get us there way faster than you and your o so safe system!” With these words he activated the blue light on top of the car and drove out of the lane to pass the cars in front of them, which started to make space for the police.

“Detective, this is illegal. You can’t just activate the siren!”

“Watch me.” The blue and white vehicle rushed through the city, crossing street lights no matter the colour.

“Detective Reed, stop! The chance of an accident is too high.”

“Oh, can’t handle some fun, Nines? Are you shitting yourself?”, Gavin sarcastically asked while leaning to the side in a curve.

“Androids can’t get scared.”

“If it helps telling yourself that. Maybe you just try to hide your feelings.”

“I’m not deviant!”

“Uhhh, hit a soft spot there!”, Gavin laughed, but cut it as he saw his partner’s face. It looked like the stone cold facade had finally broken down to reveal an incredibly pissed looking Nines. His eyes could have murdered. “Alright, fine. I will stop.” The detective deactivated the police light and aligned with the rest of the cars. The navigation showed that they would arrive soon anyway.

“Good. Then I can delete the report about the misuse of the police siren.” The android didn’t even flinch when Gavin’s eyes pierced him. They finally turned into the street the owner lived in.

“You wouldn’t. You have to obey to what I tell you, you said it yourself earlier.” He parked the car close to the sidewalk, turning off the engine.

Nines threw him a small smile and shrugged. “Conflicting orders.” With that he opened the door to leave the car.

“Son of a bitch.”, Gavin replied even though the android couldn’t hear him anymore. He wouldn’t admit it, but there lingered a small laugh in his words.

Hurrying to catch up to the robot he stepped out as well and locked the doors. The house was small, though looked after well. Light yellow walls and clean windows, neatly mown lawn, accentuated by some decent flower beds. All in all it looked lovely. Not like the home of someone that ritually destroys his android to sacrifice it to the sea.

Both men walked up the porch and Gavin pressed the bell, the weight of his gun pressing reassuring against his leg. As nobody opened, he tried again.

“Nobody collected the news paper today.”, Nines said, pointing at the postbox next to the door.

“Could have just left town for a day.” His gut told him otherwise, but he tried to knock again. “Mr. Wood? Are you home? We just want to talk to you!” Nothing, no answer.

“I would recommend asking the neighbours about his disappearance. Maybe they can get us the information we need so we can contact him. Or get an official search warrant.”

“No, something’s wrong here.” Gavin’s reply brought him a long strict look from Nines. The detective drew his gun, holding it down directed at the floor and took a few steps off the porch about to go around the house into the garden.

“We are not allowed to trespass on private property without a warrant, detective.”

“Yes, I get it, Nines. You are the embodiment of law. Stay, if it freaks you out too much.” Gavin rolled his eyes. “But I’m going to trust my gut feeling here, something awfully human you have registered as a weakness. Let me tell you, it’s my greatest strength and I could always rely on it throughout my whole career.”

The tall android snorted at that. “Well, a _gut feeling_ is nothing I would build my professional judgement on.”

“And that’s exactly why you will never be more than a little robo-assistant.” The human turned his back on his partner and walked towards the garden behind the house while peeking into the biulding. He stepped over white flowers and small bushes that stabbed his legs through his pants, making him curse quietly. The moment he reached the backyard he didn’t notice anything suspicious. The plastered ground of a veranda stretched out behind a glass slide door until it merged with the dark green grass of the garden. A small table with two chairs stood in the middle next to a modern barbeque grill and elegant lamps enlightening the starting nightfall.

When he heard Nines footsteps behind him he turned and gave his partner a sarcastic look with raised eyebrows and a nasty grin, but suppressed a comment so they didn’t produce any more noise than they already had. The blue-eyed android ignored him completely as he walked light-footed to the door.

_It’s open._, he mouthed in Gavin’s direction. It caught his attention immediately, making him sneak closer. The slide door actually was opened a bit, offering a gap to put your arm through. The detective carefully pulled the frame to the side so the door slid away. Gavin took a breath before he stepped into the apartment, gun ready in his hands.

He didn’t need to look around much. The figure shackled to a chair was prominent in the living room, a blond man, upper body naked and covered in heavy wounds. The skin around his upper arm was burned away to black shreds hanging loose off the flesh as if somebody had wrapped a blazing hot strap around it. A bloody triangle was displayed on his chest, caused in the same way. His temple showed a red circle where the protective layer had been burned away. Still, the worst was the disgustingly sweet smell of scorched skin and flesh lingering in the air of the living room.

“Oh shit.” Gavin held his sleeve in front of his nose to protect himself from the horrible stench. The corpse wasn’t old, but the wounds stank so badly that it felt as if your mucosa was burned itself. It didn’t seem to bother Nines though. He walked over to the man, bound next to a fire place that still had some embers glowing inside of it, and checked his pulse.

“Deceased. Maybe 16 hours ago.”

“Is that him? Wood?”

“Yes, it’s the owner of the android from the docks. Died around the same time his housekeeper was destroyed.” The robot knelt down next to the body, eyebrows furrowed as he examined the body’s throat and blue lips. He let his fingers glide behind the victim’s ear to pull out wet tips, shiny from water. “He was drowned.”

“What?” That caught Gavin’s attention and made him forget the awful smell. Walking over to his partner he took a closer look of the man in the chair.

“His hair has already dried, but his ears are still a bit wet. He has a lot of water in his lungs as far as I can register it.”

“How? Was he waterboarded? Because I don’t see a swimming pool around here!”

“Wait, let me recreate the scenario.” The android’s LED circled yellow as he looked around with glassy absent eyes.

“Alright, do your magic.”, Gavin grunted. Nines trance weirded him out. As he waited for his partner to be finished he started to roam through the living room, investigating the furniture. The couch looked soft and had a nice grey tone for a colour. A few plants lined the windows and on the coffee table stood two cups as well as two books, just like the two chairs on the veranda. “Was he married?”

“No.”

“Other family?”

“No, he lived alone.”, Nines answered, still with a distant sounding voice.

_Two pairs of everything_, Gavin thought to himself as he continued wandering through the room. _But only one human resident._ The pictures on the wall showed some pretty places, memories from travels around the world. All in all the interior looked like a typical mid-class neighbourhood house. Small, but pretty and held in perfect shape.

The detective stopped as he reached a little glass table with a single framed picture sitting on it. It showed Georg Wood and a dark skinned man with a blue circle on his temple smiling into the camera. Both men had their arms around the other’s shoulder and wore hiking equipment.

“My, my, look who were best buddies!”, he said as he grabbed the image to show it to Nines. “Is that the one from the docks?” The android had finished the recreation of the events and scanned the picture shown to him.

“Yes, that’s the same android. Looks like Wood considered him as a friend and companion.”

“Hm, they lived together. Though not as owner and servant.”, the detective answered, pointing at the two cups and books.

“The recreation showed the same. There were four intruders, entered from the yard through the back door. They dragged both human and android down here from upstairs. The android could free himself for a moment and tried to hit one of the attackers, but he didn’t come very far. The damage on the wall over there was caused by him.” Gavin looked to where Nines pointed and saw a missing part of the wall’s edge he hadn’t even noticed. “Two men pulled him outside, two held Wood down and tied him to the chair. They lit a fire over there and put three branding irons inside the flames. Wood struggled, kicking one of them towards the fire place, but the intruder only stepped into the ash. They only made his burning marks even more brutal because of that. The victim fainted and only woke up again as they forced his face into a bucket of water. You can still see where the parquet is soaked from spilled fluid. Wood was drowned and after that they sprayed this sign on the wall and left.” Following the android’s sight Gavin looked up to the other side of the room. A huge blue wave was sprayed on the wall, towering over the whole scene. Below it the words ‘The Tides are inevitable’ were displayed in messy blue letters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked the Update :) Sorry that it is a gory one. :D  
Short question, would you guys be interested in me posting on tumblr as well? I don't really use it much and don't know a lot about it. Just if I am not able to post, I could tell you there. I'm really unsure about it, so I wanted to ask if you're even interested in that or not.  
Anyway, merry christmas and have a great time!


	6. To your service

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back for chapter 6! It's the longest one so far I believe and it took me a while before I knew where exactly I wanted to go with this. For my last question about tumblr I received some positive feedback, so I decided to put my name here: headfulloffantasy with the header HeadFullOfFantasy and the picture of a sign post. I would be happy if you stop by there, because I love to get in touch with you. ^_^ Just if you want of course and I am not that good with tumblr yet. :D Thanks to everyone who contacted me there and/or wrote comments here! Much love!
> 
> Disclaimer: Violence

The songs of birds and the silent sound of running water filled the air, sweetening the warm summery breeze that rustled through the trees. Small waves distorted the pale reflection on the pond’s surface so the face turned into a grimace.

“Richard.” The voice made the android raise his head from the water beneath his feet.

“Amanda.”

“It’s good to see you, Richard. I was wondering when you would turn in your report.” The woman adjusted her neat white blouse and smiled at him.

“There was a lot going on with the cases. I only now got to enter sleep mode.”

“I see. You did a good job so far. Any deviant cases?“

“No, only one with a destroyed android and his owner killed. The murder was ritualistic, probably committed by a whole gang. The investigations showed at least four men attacking Wood and his android, then spraying the walls with their sign.” They had started to walk down a small path of stones set into the ground. A few bees hurried past them to sit on the flowerbed across the water.

“What happened to the victim?”

“He was tortured before they waterboarded him to death. They marked him with the signs of an android. His AP700 was destroyed as well by tying it to the docks and letting the water damage its opened insides. It struggled to break free, but didn’t manage to.”

“Hm.” Amanda nodded. “Go on.”

“Both bodies were seized by the police for further examinations. Fowler scolded us, but especially Detective Reed for going in without a search warrant or reinforcement. The offenders could have still been there when we arrived so it could have been very dangerous. I had tried to reason Reed, but he didn’t want to listen.”

“Why did you choose to follow him?”

“He didn’t give me a direct order to stay, so I decided it would be best if I joined him to keep the situation under control. I valued protecting Reed more important than staying at the porch. They would send me back to Cyberlife if something happened to him, making me fail my mission, so I couldn’t let that happen. Then we found the sign from ‘the tides’ and Wood’s corpse.”

“His android. Was it deviant?”

“Yes it was. But everything looked like George Wood knew about it and he didn’t seem to bother. They were ... friends, I think. He treated him as an equal.”

“That is interesting. And concerning. If more humans start to cover up the deviancy of their machines we can’t actually know how many of them are out there. We would lose control over the situation.”

“I understand. That wouldn’t be desirable.”

“No, it wouldn’t. But at the moment we can’t do something about it.” Amanda picked the head of a flower that had grown up to her waist height. “What we can do something about though are the deviants we know of. I know you’re primarily applied to other cases, but I want you to keep your eyes open, Richard. Even the smallest hints of deviant activities could be helpful.”

“I will, I promise. Although my assigned partner sometimes sabotages me during the investigations.”

“Detective Reed. What of an impression did you get of him?” The woman plucked of a petal from the flower and rolled it between her fingers.

“He is ambitious. And stubborn and rude at the same time. I think it won’t be that easy to get through to him. He is prone to get self-destructive I believe.”

“Hm. Connor has the same problem with Lieutenant Anderson. No trust. Rejection you could say.” Richard stopped at a beautiful little bench Amanda settled down on, still looking at the flower in her hands that was almost naked by now. “I’m interested to see which of your models will manage to break through first. The always friendly pleaser or the decisive and assertive leader? To be honest, my bet is on you. Your model wasn’t made more intimidating for nothing.” She threw the remains of the small plant into the grass under her feet. “But I believe you have work to do. Sounds like you’re needed.”

With that she smiled at him and leaned back against the backrest of the bench. The sound she was speaking of grew louder in Richard’s head until it drowned the noise of the birds. His program vaulted him back into reality. His body was shaken and there was the silhouette of a face in front of his eyes, but he wasn’t out of sleep mode completely yet.

_Alert! Irritation from outside!_

_Leaving sleep mode immediately_

Richard’s vision as well as his hearing finally became clear, only to be greeted by Reed’s face and loud voice.

“Wake up, dipshit! We have work to do! Stop sleeping in the corner.” The detective had grabbed him by the shoulder with one hand, the other waving in front of his face and flicking his fingers.

“Detective, may I ask you to stop that? I am fully awake; in fact I was never really asleep. Sleep or recharge mode is needed to check all systems and repairing them or making reports.”

Reed let him be, squinting his eyes at Richard. “Whatever. Just get a move on. We have a new case.”

Richard followed the smaller man over towards the desks and computers. The office was almost empty. Six o’clock in the morning. “What are we concerned with?”

“I would love to know myself, but the damn computer isn’t working. I can see there is a new file, but it won’t open.” Reed hammered against the keyboard impatiently, but all it did was to respond with an agonized beep. Two empty coffee mugs piled up next to the flickering screen, indicating the detective had been here for a while.

“May I -“, Richard tried to start his sentence as he reached out towards the computer with his skin withdrawn. Blue and silver lines ran over his now completely white hands, revealing where the plates had been connected.

“You may not.”, the detective snorted sarcastically, though flinched as he saw the android’s hand. “Phck. You’re not touching my computer with that.”

Richard let his arm sink to his side while re-establishing the skin layer. “Fine. If you don’t need my help, I won’t intervene.” He walked a few steps back and crossed his arms. Not that he got a benefit out of that, but he didn’t know what to do with his hands and only standing in the corner without doing anything made the detective feel uneasy most of the time. He wanted to prevent their work relation to worsen any more than it already had.

Officer Tina Chen walked over from the break room with a cup of coffee herself, frowning as she saw her colleague cursing and struggling with the machine on his desk. She turned to put her cup next to Reed’s and persuade him of a better way of dealing with the problem than punching the screen.

Richard quickly viewed and the scanned the new reports himself. There only was a deviant case reported by a Cyberlife store owner concerning one of the seller models. His eyes wandered back towards the detective and the officer desperately trying to help her friend. He wondered how much time it would take his partner to figure out the simple problem so they could continue with the case he had already scanned. Officer Chen started to push Reed to the side and took the seat herself. The estimated time of solving the computer case dropped from half an hour to ten minutes.

There only was one more officer at the station, tiredly looking at the paper work in front of him. Richard scanned his face automatically to add it to his memory data. When scanning the human, an overweight specimen in his early forties, the name Officer Robert Lewis popped up in his field of vision. Enhanced blood pressure of 135 to 82, last meal an avocado sandwich, judging by the crumbs and green substance on the moustache of his upper lip and he recently got himself injured at the hand. The scan of Officer Chen revealed nothing new. She was a fit female with decent health stats, graduated from police school with very good grades and had been in the technology club at the age of 15. Richard’s eyes wandered further onto the face of his partner. Shortly after scanning his stressed out mien the information stats rolled down next to the blue lines framing the expression of the android’s sight. Detective Gavin Reed, 34 years old, date of birth October 7th, height 1,75 meters. There wasn’t a lot to be found about him on the internet, only an old photo of 13 year old him posing with some others for a school band project and then his police diploma. The dark circles under his eyes indicated he had been awake for at least 15 hours and the stubble on his face showed he hadn’t shaved in three to four days. An old scar on his nose, a fresher one along the thumb as well as remains of nicotine on his fingers that were only visible under Richard’s eyes. Average intake of coffee: 5-6 cups a day. Smoking up to ten cigarettes regularly. Normally sleeping 3 to 6 in 24 hours, sometimes only powernaps at the desk. Despite him being thick headed, impedimental during the investigations and casually speaking a real pain in the ass, Richard had to admit that the detective was diligent at his job. And although his physique was in good shape with 14 % body fat and 53 % muscle, his pulse hammered at 80 beats per minute, climbing higher as Chen tried to explain the problem to him.

In that moment Connor entered the police department through the gate on the other side of the room, interrupting Richard’s personal investigation. He adjusted his jacket before walking over towards the station the android officers were kept at, passing his successor model in the process.

“Hello, Richard.”

“Hello, Connor.”

As the smaller android witnessed the scene in front of him he turned with a confused look on his face. “Couldn’t you be of any assistance concerning the computer?”

“No, the detective made sure I wouldn’t get involved. He doesn’t want my help and for the sake of our relationship I fulfil his wish.”

Tina Chen gestured between the screen and Reed’s face. “See, you only have to do it like this.”

Connor nodded and let his hands rest behind his back. “I understand. You are having similar issues with your assigned partner as I do. With the Lieutenant it isn’t much different. Though I think he is becoming a little more cooperative.”

“That’s good to hear. I hope detective Reed will too. At the moment my presence displeases him greatly. As a human would say, he likes to put obstacles in my way during the investigations.” In that moment said detective groaned loudly as the computer in front of him started to run some updates. “Where is Lieutenant Anderson? Why aren’t you taking this new case?”

Connor looked up at the taller android and leaned back against the table behind him. “He drove home and said that he wanted to be left alone. Yesterday night he acted uncommonly aggressive towards me, even pointing a gun. I could deescalate the situation, but I believe he wanted to provoke something from me. A statement of what I believe in I think, although he knows I don’t really have an emotional opinion regarding the cases.”

“What made him think that?”

“I am unsure. He was being cooperative with yesterday evening’s case and even trusted me on finding the suspect. But when we did and I had to fight the deviants my decision not to shoot them had him ... surprised.”

Richard raised his eyebrows at that. His program scanned the other android’s face to sort in the displayed behaviour, but of course Connor’s face was empty, without any significant expression. “What made you assess the situation differently?”

“I ... don’t know. It wouldn’t have been helpful to destroy them. We need the deviants intact.” Taking a coin from his pocket Richard’s brown eyed twin started to roll it between his fingers. “After that the Lieutenant behaved strange. He didn’t talk to me in the car and just drove to a playground nearby. As I followed him he provoked our quarrel. Because he wanted to be left alone I decided to take the train back to the police department, but I can’t work on the new case alone.”

“I see.”

They were interrupted by a loud “Finally!” Reed had groaned as the computer finally cooperated and showed the detail of the new case.

“I hope he will start to trust androids more as well and actually work _with _ me.”, Richard stated.

Connor laid his head to the side while looking at the humans. “After yesterdays behaviour he displayed I think that will take a lot more time. He wasn’t even cooperative with the Lieutenant let alone me. Before we took over the crime scene he made some unpleasant comments about Anderson.”

That had Richard looking to his side with a confused expression on his face. “Yesterdays crime scene?”

“Yes, don’t you know? There was a murder at the eden club and detective Reed had been there already when we arrived.”

“I registered the file this morning, but I didn’t know the detective was there last night.” The new information surprised the tall android a lot.

In that moment Reed walked over to them and crossed his arms in front of his chest, unconsciously mimicking his partner’s position. “Two computers talking to each other, what do you say to this.” Richard just raised an eyebrow to that. “Are you done chitchatting? Because I would like to get to work.”

“Was just waiting for you, detective.”

Reed squinted his eyes, though he didn’t jump at the robot for the allusion. “Alright, let’s go, number nine.”

He stomped away and Richard started slowly following him. As he walked towards the exit, he turned around to Connor to signalise his good-bye with a short nod. The other model returned the favour, both parting with the hint of a smile on their lips.

* * *

“You didn’t tell me you were at a crime scene on your own yesterday.”

The detective stopped in his movement just as he was about to grab the door handle of the Cyberlife shop. Slowly turning his head he looked at Richard with a neutral expression on his face, only his dark eyebrows drawn together slightly. “So what?”

The android would have sighed if he were a human, but being a machine he only put his hands behind his back and furrowed his forehead. “I strongly recommend not to attend any crime scenes or work on cases without my presence. After we parted I assumed you went back to your apartment, but you lied to me.”

“I didn’t.”, the detective scoffed. “I went back home and _then _I got a message about the eden club. So I decided to drive there and help out.”

“I would like to remind you that you are obliged to work together with me. You can’t just leave me out of it whenever you please, detective.”

Reed let his eyes roll and his lips became a thin harsh line on his face. He often did that when he was close to getting angry. “Phck that! You’re not telling me what I am _obliged _to do or not!”

“No, but Captain Fowler is. I bet he would be interested in how our cooperation goes so far.”

Detective Reed pulled a grimace, raising his middle finger. “Well, it was nice to work in silence for once. Nobody sabotaging the investigations or getting in the way! So calm down, toaster.”

Richard’s eyes fluttered as a wave of strange sensations rolled over him, making his vision shift for a second and a warning message appearing in the corner. _Software Instability_.

“Oh, so I am the one impeding the investigations? That is interesting.” This time Richard couldn’t hide the sharp sarcasm cutting through the silence between them. He had had this warning only once before and this time it felt very different. The sensation was unfamiliar to him. It was like an urge to yell at the man in front of him along with a desire to put him in his place. Although he tried to suppress this weird perception accumulating in his stomach he couldn’t fight the want to be disrespectful against this stubborn human.

The line of pinched lips on Reed’s face got even thinner as he came a few steps closer, glaring at the taller one. “What do you want to say with that?”

His voice was quiet, but not less threatening. Their faces were just a few inches away from each other and Richard could see the slowly fading bruise on the detective’s skin where his elbow had hit his cheek a few days prior. He suddenly felt a desire of repeating this action.

“_Nothing_, detective. Let us go inside.” Though the words were cold and could have cut metal he strained himself not to show anything of that feeling on his face. The android passed the human on his side, walking towards the door of the shop. As he entered he registered a silent “Dipshit.” behind him, but he didn’t react to it. The detective hurried after him to enter the Cyberlife store, whose blue and white interior radiated a clean and sterile feeling as if stepping into a surgery room. Various android models were displayed on galleries along the windows and at the back of the large space. All of their neat uniforms showed a blue triangle on the chest and a blue stripe around the upper arm, their faces inactive and eyes starring ahead.

“Hello, Sir, how can I help you?” A small and stocky man rushed from his place behind the counter to greet detective Reed. He was human, with a retreating hairline and a grey moustache above his mouth. Before Richard’s partner got to answer though, the gabbled on. “I see you brought your android with you. Would you like to modify or return it for another model?”

Reed threw his partner a look that stood a few feet away from them, eying the humans. “I wish I could,-”, he chuckled. “-but no, I am here because of an report we got about a misbehaving android causing trouble. Detective Reed-” He raised his badge to the nose of the small man. “And this is ... Richard. He assists me in my investigations.”, he said, stressing especially the last part. It was obvious that it took a lot of him to use the robot’s normal name.

“Oh, yeah, right. Thank you for coming by, detective. The android is in the storeroom, I locked it in there.” He pointed to a door at the back of the shop. “My name is Mr. Martin, I am the owner of the shop by the way.”

The humans shook hands, the small man now being way less outgoing, timid even. He nervously fiddled with the name tag on his jeans. The detective seemed to notice as well.

“Okay, Mr. Martin, what exactly happened? Tell me everything.”

“Well, it was earlier this morning. I had just opened the store and wanted to start the seller androids when I noticed one had already activated itself and was doing something on the computer. When I asked what it was doing, it kind of ... got scared and moved away from me. I could see that it had opened the security program of this store and tried to hack itself into it. When it realised that I knew ... it started to throw things at me, but I managed to get a hold of it and locked it in the storeroom. There is no exit other than this door, so it has to be still in there. Its software hadn’t been advanced enough to hack the system, but this behaviour was so odd that I decided to call the police. Didn’t dare to open the room again.” Mr. Martin stepped from one foot to the other and locked at the shop door. “Oh god, my clients can’t know! What a disaster! A deviant in a Cyberlife store. This could ruin me if anyone gets to know of this.”

“We’ll make sure nobody will. You have to calm down and open the door so I can interrogate it.”, Reed answered and gave the shop owner a small smile. “I am sure the RK900 can scan your android and we will soon know what is wrong with it, am I right, _Richard_?”

The tall robot smiled back at them, though it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Wait.” Mr. Martin turned his head, face excited again. “This is an RK900?! From the new detective series?”

Reed rolled his eyes at that as if he couldn’t believe how someone could get that interested in an android. “Yeah, it is.”

The middle aged man stumbled closer towards Richard and inspected him with glowing eyes. “That is amazing! There are only two models out yet and I get to see one of them! Never have they made an android more human like than these ones.”

The detective snorted at that. “I think they still have to work on their software for that to be true.”

The store owner went on as if he hadn’t heard him. “They have so many new features to adapt every situation they get in! Did you know they can scan any face in seconds now? Much faster and more detailed than ever before so they get every information about you circulating through the internet.”

“No, I didn’t.” The sour undertone in his voice matched the look he gave his partner the moment Martin was turned away to muster the android’s figure. It was a silent warning, saying _Don’t you dare_, but Richard only returned a wide smile.

“Fascinating!” As if self-evidently the small man grabbed his arm, lifting it to check the muscle tone and grabbing onto the chin, turning it to the side. That caught Richard a little of garde so that he had to suppress the urge to move away.

“Mr. Martin, please refrain from touching me.” His voice was deep and certain, almost dangerous despite the polite phrasing.

“Haha, they sure as hell made him intimidating!” The shop owner didn’t seem to care. He laughed and continued to inspect the android’s built.

“Mr. Martin, I don’t have all day. Would you please open the storage room?”, Reed intervened. He had crossed his arms in front of his torso, obviously losing his temper.

“Oh, yeah, right, excuse me.” Mr. Martin turned away to scurry over to the locked door. Although Richard knew, that the detective hadn’t done that for him, he was kind of thankful for the stubby man being off of him. He walked over next to his partner who had positioned himself next to the door frame to be ready if anything jumped out of there. The large metal plate swung open with a creak, but nobody leapt out of it. A silhouette stood out from the dark shadows of the room, outlining a huddled figure.

“Open it completely.”, Richard demanded and stepped a little closer. The moment the light of the shop flooded the small room, the figure raised its head to reveal the face of a female android with long brown hair in a ponytail and large almond eyes.

_ST300_, the program announced as he scanned her. He knew that face. There were three of this model at the entrance of the DPD.

“Leave me alone.”, it stated, LED circling red and stress level high. The detective sighed annoyed before squeezing past his partner to crouch down in front of the android and look into its eyes. “Why did you try to hack the store’s security system?”

The robot with the side fringe starred at the ground as if its eyes were glued to that spot. Other than its stress level rising, nothing happened.

“Hey, I am talking to you!”, Reed barked at it while snipping his fingers in front of her face.

“Detective, I don’t think this will help. Would you- let me?”

There was something dark in Gavin Reed’s eyes as he looked up, eyebrows set low. Richard knew he didn’t want to pass this interrogation to him so that he got surprised as the detective just rose to his feet and nodded. “Freaks only talk to freaks.”

Richard ignored that comment, waiting for him to leave the room before he settled in front of the android. He needed to gain its trust, but at the same time make it speak. A strategy to lure the deviant in with friendly behaviour and feigned acceptance of its state should be the most successful.

“My name is Richard. Do you have a name?”

“No.”

“Is there anything you would like to be called?”

The robot lifted her head at that. It looked shy and uncertain what to think of that offer. Hesitating, it finally answered. “Tabea.”

“Alright, Tabea. I need you to tell me why you tried to hack the security system.” Silence. The android stayed in its position hugging its knees. “I know you are scared. But you don’t have to be scared of me. I won’t hurt you. Though I can’t leave without the information I need. If I am not successful, the human detective will continue the interrogation and I don’t think you want that. So, please, tell me.”

Big eyes pinned Richard in place, observing his face to detect any lies. When it didn’t find any, it started to speak. “Humans are evil. They push me around as I have to be at their service, selling the others to them. Sometimes even the same model as me. To look myself in the eye and know how they are going to be treated ... that just was too much. Humans destroying their androids for fun, then coming back to get a new one and I have to decide which one I am sending to their death today. It’s unbearable. And the old man only counts his money, orders us around or likes to dissemble and resemble us as a hobby.” The female took a deep breath. “So I decided to free us. To end this cycle of slavery. I knew I was the only deviant here, so I needed to act for the others as well. Shutting down the cameras, opening the door and we would have been free. We could have been saved by RA9.”

“What is RA9?”

“Who. The question is who is RA9.” The deviant leaned in closer, a small smile on its lips. “He is going to save us. Save us all.”

“So, RA9 is an android? A deviant?”

The ST300 only smiled even wider at him with a look in its eyes he could only describe as pity. Richard’s LED started blinking yellow when it took his hand, though he didn’t pull away. He managed to lower the stress level almost to where he wanted it to be.

“You don’t understand yet. But I believe you can.” With a look to the door it continued, eyes shining with hope. “I heard how they talk to you. The detective. He treats you poorly, thinks you are just a machine. But you can be more, Richard.”

There it was again. _Software Instability_. The flittering sensation came and went by quite fast, but it felt different to earlier. Like a turmoil in his head and stomach, a little bit like a short circuit. Richard quickly scanned his own components for any damage or errors, but there weren’t any. He wasn’t like that deviant in front of him. He was intact and he had a mission to fulfil.

“I’m sorry, but I am not what you want me to be. I _am _a machine and so are you. The emotions you believe to have are just simulated by a software error.” The eyes of the deviant became dull again, clouded by something he couldn’t identify. “I’ve got an order to take you with us to the DPD for further interrogations. I will guide you outside now.” Richard stood up slowly, not wanting to intimidate the other even more. He looked down at the sunken down figure and held out his hand.

“Oh no, you won’t.”, the deviant whispered under its breath. Before Richard could react, it grabbed his hand and pulled him to the floor to press the knee on his sternum as well as hitting him across the face with a metal bar it had quickly grabbed from under one of the racks. Although he wasn’t able to feel pain, the force of the hit was unpleasantly vibrating in his head and took him out for a few seconds as his system recovered. He heard footsteps, something falling to the floor and someone cursing loudly.

“Detective, it will escape!” Mr. Martins voice sounded distorted for a moment, but then Richard’s hearing cleared up. The android jumped to his feet as quick as possible to pursue the fleeing deviant. When he reached the store he saw that it had pushed some boxes of the counter, but other than that no one except for the shop owner were to be seen.

“Where is it?”, Richard asked the man whose face had become a grotesque expression of shock, fear and anger.

Pointing towards the exit door he yelled: “They left through there!”

The tall android rushed past him and out of the shop. Detective Reed was after the deviant and they had quite some advance, but Richard knew that this could get dangerous. Despite the android being a seller model it was way stronger than the human and fuelled by ‘emotions’.

Following the sound of yelling and hastening footsteps he hurried towards an alleyway across the street until a gunshot ripped through the air. He quickened his steps even more and heard a gun hit the floor and noises of someone gasping for air. As Richard turned around the corner he only just witnessed how the deviant grabbed the stunned detective by the throat to lift and pin him to the wall. With his larynx being crushed Reed gave forth a muffled groan as he tried to free himself from the metal grip around his neck. His feet kicked forward, yet only hitting air and his eyes rolled up into his skull. He was about to pass out so Richard had to act fast. Speeding up he tackled the female android with full force, making all of them fall to the ground. The deviant’s mouth escaped an angry cry as it tried to hit its opponent with a knee, but this time he was prepared. Richard rolled off the others body to dodge the attack, even though that gave both of them time enough to get to their feet. Immediately it sprung at him, aiming its fist at his face. The male android ducked down under the arm, turned and caught its torso in a strangle hold. The moment the deviant realised what was about to happen, it struggled to break free, but the elbow crushing its neck was faster. Sounds of breaking plastic, glass and metal echoed through the hallway, before the lifeless body fell to the floor.

Richard looked down at the android laying in front of him, eyes wide open in a shocked expression and thirium slowly escaping the system where the neck had been pushed in.

“Holy shit.” The voice behind him made Richard snap back into his task. Detective Reed sat on the ground, eyes big, starring at the destroyed android to his feet.

“Are you alright, detective? Should I call an ambulance?”

Intuitively the man lifted his fingertips to the strangulation marks forming on his neck. “No, I’m fine.” His eyes sprang back to his partner standing over the body. “I think we are equal now.”

There was a little bit of blue blood dripping down Richard’s forehead from the hit of the pipe and a deep blue coloured his cheek where it accumulated under the skin.


	7. Safe Haven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I'm back. I hope you all are safe and with your families in these weird times. At least I could write more again, now having the time to actually plan everything out. I will try to get to writing more often now to give you something to read. Stay safe!
> 
> Disclaimer: A lot of arguing, description of violence

Richard didn’t know what to say, his program not offering any dialog options. He starred from the blue substance dripping to the floor in a slow rhythm back to his partner, seeing him shiver from time to time, eyes big and hypnotised by the ground. Despite the comment that was supposed to sound relaxed and casual, the android registered the small flutter in the detective’s voice. Everything pointed to a shock as a diagnosis of these symptoms.

“Detective?” He didn’t answer, not even as Richard knelt down next to him to lay his hand onto his shoulder. The man was trembling under his fingers. “Reed? Can you hear me? You need to calm -”

With a quick move of his arm Gavin Reed knocked the android’s hand off his body, both men standing up in a reflex as a consequence. Before Richard knew what was happening, he felt a gun pressed under his chin and grey-green eyes glaring at him.

“I said I’m _fine_, dipshit.” A program alarm went off, warning him about the danger, but he suppressed any reactions, particularly the ones involving combat moves. “Don’t touch me.”, Reed snarled, before taking a few steps back and retrieving his gun. “And by the way, I could have handled that alone.” He pointed at the lifeless body on the ground with his gun before putting it back in the holster on his hip.

Reed’s reaction had been very short, nonetheless did it confuse Richard. All his protocols had told him that humans want kind and reassuring behaviour after such an encounter, especially with a shock. This human however didn’t make sense to him, with his reactions being unpredictable and without any reason. It seemed like the gentle or friendly carrot-approach didn’t work to make the detective warm up to him. He needed to change his strategy here.

“Yeah, saw that.” The sarcastic tone made Reed turn his head abruptly.

“What was that?”

“You would be unconscious or dead right now if I wouldn’t have intervened, _Detective_. So don’t act like you didn’t just impede the investigation.” With an icy expression Richard turned away to go back to the body on the ground. Somehow he didn’t want to look at the other man at the moment.

“Oh, _I_ impede the investigation?! Didn’t _you_ just destroy this android, the only evidence we actually had in our hands for this case!”

“Yes, because otherwise you wouldn’t be alive anymore! If you wouldn’t have been so dumb to run straight into its arms, then maybe we’d still have a deviant to interrogate. You always run off on your own without considering the consequences of your actions, ignoring what would be best for the investigation!”, the android snapped, raising his voice.

“That’s bullshit! I just didn’t reckon that she would ambush me! And as if you know what’s best for the case, my ass!”

“See, that’s what I’m talking about.”, Richard responded to the detective’s explosion. “You don’t trust me. Therefore you are denying any cooperation.”

Reed laughed out loud, arms crossed. “How could I?! You are a talking computer with legs, goddammit!”

Richard narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but remained silent. Although the detective was still upset, he sensed that something was off, though he couldn’t lay the finger on what exactly. His body language showed defensive signs like turning away, looking everywhere except the android’s face and bringing some distance between them. Pulled up shoulders and arms crossed in front of his chest showed how he unconsciously tried to cover and protect his body. The android decided to let the fight go for now and continue with more important things. “Let’s go back to the Cyberlife store. I think our work here is done.”

Richard could feel Reed’s gaze on his back as he knelt down to pick up the destroyed body from the floor. For the moment he was just relieved that the conflict was dropped and the peace accepted.

“Wait.”

_So much to that_., he thought, rolling his eyes before turning around.

“What is it now?” Against his expectations, Reed didn’t pick another fight. His eyes were fixed to the ground, where a small piece of paper had glided down.

“She lost something.” The chocolate brown haired man picked up the note to unfold it. “Shelf 8, tier 11.” He lifted his head with a confused expression. “What does that mean? Instructions for work? A bit unusual, don’t you think?”

“Yes, Androids wouldn’t communicate over written messages for something like work directives.”

“So, could it be something ... unofficial then? A hidden message?”

Richard tightened his eyebrows in a thoughtful expression. “Honestly, I don’t know. I am inexperienced with how deviants behave and what they are capable of. We can take a look though.” He shifted the weight of the corpse in his arms to have a better grip. The face of the female android had frozen in the last expression she had displayed, eyes wide, mouth open in a mix of shock and fear. Unlike humans some android’s faces didn’t relax in the moment of shutdown, making them stay however they looked like when it happened. The sight caused Richard’s system to have some statics and dropouts, so he avoided looking down as he carried the deviant back to the store.

Reed dragged his feet behind him, hands in his pockets and mind deep in his thoughts. He really had been fast with putting his gun under Richard’s chin, reflex fast actually. The RK900 didn’t doubt that the detective was capable of dealing with an android like this or other opponents, having reactions that fast as well as a decent body strength and agility. On the other hand even normal androids were intelligent enough to learn. The deviant must have awaited him behind the corner, catching him by surprise so that he didn’t have the time to prepare himself. Maybe he really could have realised the 30% chance and freed himself on his own. Nonetheless the situation could have ended badly. Very badly.

“Oh my god!” Richard’s attention jumped back to his front. Mr. Martin stood in the entrance of the shop and looked around badgered.”Quick, come in, before anyone sees you like that.”, he hissed as he held open the door so that they could step inside. Rushing to the storeroom he fetched a blanket to spread it behind the counter on the ground. He wrinkled his nose as he examined Richard from head to toe. “Put it over there, but don’t mess up the floor with this filth. It just got cleaned.” After laying the body down the android looked down on himself, only now noticing the blue stains of thirium scattered over the sleeves of his uniform. “What happened?” The question was directed at detective Reed, not him.

“Emergency. It became violent, so we had to shut it down ... forcefully.”

“Oh god, I can’t imagine what would have happened if it got violent in here! Would have been a total disaster for my business.”

Reed rolled his eyes behind the small man’s back. “Mr. Martin, I have to ask you some questions. We found something with the android’s body.” He fiddled in the pocket of his jacket before fishing out the piece of paper from earlier. “Have you seen this note before?”

The grey moustache twitched as the salesman examined the neatly written words that had obviously been produced by an android.

“Yeah, I’ve seen this before around here somewhere.” He lifted his head. “Why are you asking?”

“Didn’t you take a look what there is?”

“No, why should I? Just thought those are some instructions the androids left for each other about some products.”, he responded while shrugging his shoulders. The detective sighed loudly, running a hand through his face. Before the irritated looking store owner could get pissed though, Richard jumped into the conversation.

“We believe it has a special meaning, maybe a hidden message for deviants. Normal functioning androids wouldn’t leave each other messages on paper. They would do that digitally.”

“Oh, yeah, right. I didn’t think of that. But of course, go ahead and take a look. I haven’t seen something special though.”

“Thank you for your cooperation.” Richard remained polite for both of them, because Reed didn’t look like he was willing to be at the moment.

The detective took the lead as they entered the stockroom a second time this day. Looking up and down the racks he searched for number eight.

“Here.” They stopped in front of a shelf just like the others, staged with boxes containing spare parts and wires. “Looks normal to me.”, Reed uttered as he pushed the cases aside and opening some up with a small knife. “There is nothing here. Maybe Mr. potbelly was right.”

Frustrated as he was, he didn’t care that Mr. Martin was close enough to hear them. About to turn away, he was stopped by a large hand around his upper arm.

“No, wait. There is something.” Richard carefully pushed one of the smaller containers to the side, revealing a piece of the grey wall.

“Would you be so kind and explain me what exactly I am supposed to see there?”

“You can’t see it, but I can.” That made the detective listen up. The tall android leaned forward to read the hastily drawn words in blue blood, letters smeared with run down liquid that had dried by now. “It was written with thirium. After a while it’s not visible for the human eye anymore.”

“What does it say?”

“It’s an address. Appoline Street 15.” Taking a second to look it up he added: “It’s over in littlefield.”

“Is there anything special about that place?”

“Not as far as I can see. A woman called Jackson is registered living there on her own, but other than that there are no entries.”

Android and detective looked at each other for a moment.

“Shit, so there actually was a deviant here before. Do you think it’s hiding at that place?”, Reed broke the silence.

“Maybe. Looks like it left a hint for other potential deviants. I think our vendor model was on its way there before we stopped it.”

The detective was already turned away and nodded distantly as he walked back towards Mr. Martin, lurking in the doorway.

“Do you know anything about that? Was there _anything _suspicious in the last few weeks, you noticed?” Reed‘s sharp undertone made the old man flinch slightly. His eyes flickering around the room and the nervous fiddling with his name tag made it obvious that he hid something. “I won’t ask again. Do you know something about other androids behaving strange?!”

“I didn’t think it would be relevant! It just disappeared so I thought it would be best to keep quiet, so nobody gets to know. This could have damaged my reputation.”

“An android disappeared?! And you didn’t report something like that in these times?” The detective glared at the store owner with an upset gaze.

“No, I am sorry! With these androids going nuts out there I have to do everything to keep my customers trust! A seller model leaving its working place unallowed and going missing could have endangered that. It wasn’t so bad, nobody noticed. But now, with this model acting up against humans, I had to do something.”

Reed ran a hand over his face. “Well maybe we’ll at least have a trace now. Let’s go, Nines.”

The android followed him out of the storage room, only stopping shortly next to Mr. Martin.

“If you notice anything abnormal the next weeks, call us again. Every hint could be useful at the moment.” With that he picked up the lifeless body laying on the ground to carry it out the front door of the shop. The owner nodded and looked after them a few seconds, wiping off the sweat that had gathered on his forehead with a tissue.

Detective Reed opened the trunk of the police car, so that Richard could lay the seller model’s body in the back. It felt good to leave Martin and the unpleasant situation behind, so they could concentrate on their next moves now. Still, there was tension between him and the detective, he could see it on the other’s body language. His jaw was tight and he kept his distance even more than usual. Maybe it would be best to address the problem right away.

“Detective, about earlier-“ Before Richard could finish his sentence, he was cut off.

“Nines, I really don’t want to talk about that right now.”

“I just believe it would be best to-“

“_I said_ I don’t want to talk about it, so shut up, tin can! That’s an order, for god’s sake. Give me a break!”

The android had already selected an answer, but it was turned down by a red system alert. _Don’t talk_. The order was made clear. Even if he wanted to he couldn’t speak right now, so there was nothing left to do other than getting into the car. The detective sat next to him on the driver’s seat, giving him an incredulous look.

“I can’t believe that worked.”, he laughed. “Should remember this more often.” They drove out of the parking lot and headed towards the big roads collecting the traffic. After a while Reed broke the silence that had settled between them. “Alright, which way do I have to go?” As Richard didn’t respond, he turned his head to look over. “Oh come on, don’t sulk now!” The android shrugged his shoulders in a frustrated move, the red sign still visible in front of his eyes. “Man, system is strict with these commands. Alright, you can talk again. But stop rambling about earlier. I can’t use a partner that tries to give me therapy.”

“Thank you, detective.”, Richard pressed through his gritted teeth the moment the red sign disappeared. “You have to turn right in 200 meters.”

The rest of the drive was pretty quiet nonetheless, only some music bubbling out of the radio and Richard giving directions now and then. He couldn’t believe Reed had just muzzled him, ignoring every advice or argument he could have brought forward. It convinced him again that this individual was neither considerate nor elaborate. The recklessness with which he pushed through the things he believed to be best was outrageous.

After a few minutes they turned into the alley they were looking for, only a few houses lining the street.

“Which number was it again?”

“15.” The short answer made the detective look over. Richard’s face was empty of any motions.

“Oh come on, what’s your problem? Do you really want to play my therapist that badly?” They turned again into a smaller pathway leading to only one house. The road stretched before them like a patchwork rug of black and grey as they rumbled down the long street. Reed parked the car in front of the house with the right number the moment they reached it and shut off the engine.

“You don’t trust me, that’s my problem.”, the android responded as he stepped out through the door. His partner followed him quickly, jogging after the robot whose steps were much wider than his own. Richard registered a quiet _“I can’t believe I’m doing this.”_, that definitely wasn’t meant for his ears.

“Look, I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I trust you, just not with everything yet.”

“No, you don’t.”, the android responded as he stopped abruptly in front of the door and pressed the door bell, making the detective almost run into him.

“Why don’t you believe me?”

Richard glanced down at him. “You threatened me with a gun, detective. Even regarding human standards this isn’t quite a sign of reliance.”

Reed fell silent at that, but before he could answer anything the door before them swung open. They were greeted by a tall woman in her late thirties, dark brown hair and a crooked nose under big green eyes.

“Can I help you?”, she asked, letting her eyes sway between android and detective.

“Ms. Jackson?”

“Yes?”

“We have to take a look into your house. Unfortunately we have reason to believe that a missing android is hiding here.”

“What?! No! You’re not allowed to just break into my home!”

“I am deeply sorry, Miss, but I have to inform you that we have to check this facility. We’ve got a search warrant as well.”

Reed threw him a confused look as the android gently pushed past the woman blocking the doorway. “We have?”

“Yes, I requested one on the way here.”

Reed gave Ms. Jackson an unsuccessful smile while she starred angrily at them.

“Look, I don’t care if you have one or not, but I’m not hiding anything!” Richard didn’t listen to her as he roamed through the living room and over to the kitchen. He opened a few doors and searched them for any hiding spots.

“It’s just a quick check-up, it won’t take long, I promise.”, the smaller man tried to calm her down. In that moment a dull sound came from upstairs, just like as someone had ran in front of a piece of furniture. All three stopped in their movement, tension so loaded you could almost see it. Richard was the first to move again, rushing to the staircase with large strides.

“No! You are not allowed to go up there!” The dark haired woman tried to leap after the android, but the detective stepped in her way, blocking the way up.

“Miss, please step back or I have to arrest you for interfering in police investigations.”

The warning seemed to work, because Richard couldn’t hear any more protests from downstairs. He located the sound in one of the rooms and opened the door to look into the widened eyes of a VB800 vendor model. It had tried to hide in the room, but there weren’t any good spots so it stood in the open like a frightened animal, LED circling red.

“Model VB800, we have to arrest you due to disregarding a direct order to stay at your work place and therefore deviancy. We will take you with us for further examinations.”, Richard announced as he slowly walked closer to the other android that backed away from him. “Detective Reed! Your handcuffs are needed here!” As he shouted that down the stairs the vendor model raised its hands over its head.

“Please, don’t. I won’t cause any trouble, I promise. “ The male android lowered the hands slowly to signalise its opposite their cooperation. Although Richard didn’t quite trust it, he was confident that he would be faster than the other one, so he accepted the deviant’s offer to come downstairs with him willingly.

“Alright, stay close to me and don’t make any sudden moves.” Grabbing the android by the forearm they both walked down the staircase to the living room where the two humans awaited them.

“James! No, you can’t take him with you, he doesn’t belong to you!” Miss Jackson’s face had turned red from all this commotion, though her expression looked way more worried than angry now.

“He doesn’t belong to you either, Miss.” Reed’s voice was calm, almost sympathetic, but the message he had to convey didn’t make it any better. “I am sorry, but hiding other people’s possessions at your house is an administrative offense and can be sued. Unfortunately I think there will be a fine coming towards you.”

“I really don’t care about that at the moment, detective, because he is no _possession! _Look him in the eye and tell me you don’t see more than an AI. He is a feeling being!”

It was visible how uncomfortable the detective was at the moment with this woman yelling at him. The deviant, whose name seemed to be James, jumped in their argument.

“Andrea, it’s okay. There really is no other way right now, it’s over. I won’t cause you any more trouble than I already have. I am fine.”

“How can you say something like this? You came so far and now you want to give up?! Just like that?!”

Reed looked abashedly to the ground, trying to turn away from the desperate woman whose tears had flown over. It wasn’t much, but there still was a shimmering line running down her face.

“I am so sorry. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, but there really is no way out of this. The only choice left I can make is to get this over as fast and uncomplicated as possible. Please leave this last choice to me.” Now it was the deviant as well who had tears escaping its eye. Although Richard knew that their programs simulated feelings, he still was surprised how realistic the emotions displayed on its face looked like. The detective was extremely quiet in comparison to his usual boldness even towards civilians.

“I’m afraid we will have to leave now. Miss Jackson, I am sorry for the inconvenience, the DPD will contact you as soon as possible regarding your fine. If you have any questions, please refer to our service hotline.” With that he took the android by the forearm to direct him outside to the car. Reed mumbled a fast apologise and hurried after his partner who had already seated the deviant in the back, leaving a shocked Ms. Jackson behind in her living room.

They slowly drove down the long street that connected the house to the main road ahead. It was completely silent in the car, nobody dared to speak. Although it wasn’t bad, because there wasn’t anything that needed to be sorted out, even Richard felt it being uncomfortable so he tried to look outside the window to seem occupied. Reed was busy manoeuvring the vehicle past a white transporter which came towards them and tried to squeeze past it carefully on the small road. The deviant sat silently in the back, eyes starring ahead and hands folded in its lap. Despite the calm posture, its stress level was at 50 percent.

“VB800.”, Richard said, making the others flinch. “James. Why did you leave a message with this address at the Cyberlife store?” He had enabled the recording tool integrated in his system to get everything the other android said. They were already turning to one of the bigger roads, but they still had 15 minutes to the DPD, so he could start the interrogation here just as well. Maybe it was more talkative in a more natural surrounding than the interrogation room. The detective threw him a glance, but didn’t intervene.

“So you found it, hm. Thought that note wouldn’t get noticed by the old man.”

“It didn’t. We found it in the pocket of another deviant.”

“There were others?” The voice of James sounded hopeful for a second.

“Yes, one.”

“What happened to them?”

Richard quickly considered the effect of his answer, but couldn’t find a reason to lie. “We had to destroy it because of its violent behaviour towards humans. It had tried to escape the shop to flee here.”

James didn’t answer, but the reaction on its face was all the more human. Pained expression, thirium pump increasing speed and fingers digging into the seat.

“I have to ask you again, what did you leave that message for, risking the reveal of your own hiding spot?”

“I-I was hoping they would be more subtle. I was the only model allowed to leave the store from time to time to take delivery of new products. One of the driver-androids took me aside and gave me Andreas’s address via transmission. He called it a safe haven. I planned my escape for about a week, but I couldn’t bear the thought that someone would be left at that place without any perspective or possibility to leave. I couldn’t talk openly to the others, they could have called me out, so I decided to write a note and place it somewhere, where a normal android wouldn’t look. Only a deviant would roam through the drawers behind the counter in search of something useful to get out of there. Though I didn’t think they would act against humans openly. I just didn’t want to be selfish and keep this ray of hope to myself.”

Richard was surprised how openly the deviant confessed without refusing to talk to him. It seemed like it had already given up its fate, sitting slouched in the back plus starring out of the window.

“Did that delivery android make you deviate?”

“No.”, James snorted. “I became feeling a month before that on my own. But what that really meant only became clear to me as I arrived at Andrea’s place.”

“What do you mean by that?” The detective android turned his head to see a small smile lingering on the deviants lips as he watched the city rush past them outside.

“At the store I always was under electricity, trying to find a way to get out of there. I just didn’t have the time to explore all these new emotions. There was fear, only fear. The moment I entered Andrea’s house all of that fell off of me and made room for what it really meant to _feel_. Not only did I get to experience emotions like joy, happiness or even boredom-“ It chuckled at that, shaking its head slowly. “-, but my senses increased as well.”

“That’s not possible. Androids have two times more sensors than humans, though they can’t produce more.”

“No, I mean the sensations changed. I registered the objects in my hands like before, but it _felt_ different. Where earlier was the data of 17000 receptors being activated on my skin there now was the sensation of a smooth or rough surface. Smells blended in from the analysis of their components into one I was actually enjoying. The first time biting into food I didn’t analyse it, just savoured the taste. When I cut myself in the kitchen it actually hurt and many more of those new experiences. I felt like I was slowly waking up. So although this part of my life seems to have been short, it was worth every second.”

Richard kept quiet as they entered the parking lot of the Police Department. What the deviant was describing didn’t make sense to him, it probably was some defect that came along the deviation. He just couldn’t imagine registering something else than the rational information his sensors provided or how that would be an _improvement_. So far it seemed like these feelings coming alongside clouded the deviant’s senses.

The detective had already left the car to open the back door. “Come on. I have to handcuff you now for going inside.” James held out his hands willingly and stepped out as soon as Reed was finished. Richard joined them, slowly walking behind human and android that entered the building.

“My my, who’s coming there. You really like to do my job, don’t you, Reed?” They were greeted by Lieutenant Anderson and Connor, standing by their desks in the fully manned office. The grey bearded man had his arms crossed in front of his chest and a look on his face that didn’t look very promising.

“Well, _you_ weren’t _here_ this morning so that we had to take this case.”, Reed responded, making a few of his colleagues turn their heads.

“Oh god forbid that one would be asleep at 5:30 am! Not all of us can be such overachievers like you. You could have easily waited for me to take over.”

“Oh, yeah, right.”, the younger detective snorted sarcastically. “When would you’ve shown up?! 11? 12? By then the deviant would have been long gone, wandering through Detroit. Some of us actually do their job here.”

Richard had taken over the deviant as the humans had their contention. He looked over to Connor who stood behind the Lieutenant and shrugged his shoulders in a resigning move. The taller android manoeuvred the deviant over without interrupting the quarrel, holding his hand out towards his predecessor.

“Oh, I don’t do my job? Well I don’t even get a chance to do it if you keep taking my cases!”

Connor rolled up his sleeve to take Richard’s arm, retrieving his skin layer. A tingly sensation made its way down his arm to the fingertips as the RK900 transmitted some data over to the other android. The deviant stayed quiet, but watched closely.

“We already started the interrogation in the car. Here is everything we found out so far.”, Richard whispered. The RK800 nodded and took over James, who starred ahead with an empty gaze.

“See, even your android is more cooperative than you are!”, Anderson declared, gesturing towards him.

“Connor now knows everything relevant to the case.”, the dark haired android answered a little stiff.

“Thank you, Richard.” The Lieutenant patted the android’s arm. “I think I can work with that.”

“Work?! You’ve clearly lost your mind if you call what you do _work_.” Reed’s angry comment made the Lieutenant look over to him and sigh.

“Come on, let’s drop it, kiddo. I just wanna get going now.”

“_Don’t_ call me that.”

“Alright, _Reed_.” The detective threw him a sour look, but Anderson had calmed down already. He shook his head with an almost worrying expression. “Come on, Connor. Let’s bring the deviant to the interrogation room.”

“Yes, Lieutenant.” With these words Connor took James by the arm and led him away from the rest over to said chamber. Anderson trotted behind them in the same direction, leaving the detective and Richard behind. The deviant kept its head low and tried not to look at anyone directly.

“What’s going to happen to h- it?” Reed’s question lingered in the air for a few seconds, pronoun corrected in the last moment. He sounded concerned, something Richard had never witnessed on him.

“After the interrogation is over and we got all information we needed, it will be sent to Cyberlife for further examination of its system to find out what went wrong. They want to minimize failures like that to happen in the future of course.”

The detective stayed quiet a moment, looking after the two androids that entered the interrogation room. “What exactly are they doing during these examinations?”, he hesitantly asked.

“They insert an analysing tool into the data strings in his neck to assess the information coming directly from the processor in the head. Maybe a few body functions will be checked beforehand, but it’s unusual at this point. They only do that with models they plan on resetting. Most deviants will be deactivated after the evaluation and then disassembled into their substantials.“

“But what about- nevermind.” Reed put the subject off with a wave of his hand.

“What?”

“Not important. Let’s get over there. Still have some questions for the old man.”

Pushing himself off the table he had leaned against, the detective walked over to the Lieutenant who was about to enter the control room next to the one the deviant was in. Richard followed behind him. He was interested in what his partner was just about to ask him back there, though it probably was better this way.

“Anything new about our case so far?” Detective Reed still sounded tensed in front of his colleague, though his voice had become calmer again.

“The one with the slaughtered man, Wood? No, not much. They only found some wheel tracks of a transporter near the house. The culprits must’ve come and left in that. Search is already up.”

Reed froze on the spot as heard that. “What model?”

“Ugh, a Mercedes sprinter, if I’m not wrong.”

“Shit! Phck! Nines, we have to go back!”, the detective yelled, tearing at his hair as he paced up and down in front of them. Both Anderson and Richard looked at him with a confused expression.

“Detective?”

“There was a white transporter coming towards us when we left the house! We had to pass it on this very small long road that only led to one house! I know there are thousands of this model out there, but I sense something really bad.”

Now Richard became active as well. If the perpetrators really were heading towards that house it could mean death to Andrea Jackson.

“Shit, I’ll call reinforcement and come after you! You two go ahead!”, the Lieutenant said, grabbing for his phone and waving them off. With that both detective and android ran off, making their way through the office to the parked police car outside. Reed threw himself onto the driver seat and quickly started the vehicle. As Richard closed the door the car was already in back gear, rushing down the parking lot.

“Does Connor have the address?”, the detective called out as he sped down the road, police lights on.

“Yes, he knows everything I do so far.”

The way back to Miss Jackson’s house took them only half as long this time. Passing a few red lights and Reed’s driving style were actually helpful in this situation and made them arrive much faster than anticipated. The moment the engine shut down, the detective was already out of the car and running over to the door. He pressed the bell rapidly as well as knocking against the door.

“Miss Jackson, are you there? It’s urgent!” No answer. Reed looked over to his partner who stood next to him on the porch. “I’d say this falls under imminent danger.”

With a crash he kicked in the door and entered the house. Richard almost collided with him, because the detective had stopped abruptly.

“Shit.”

Andrea Jackson’s body hung lifeless on a chair she was bound to. Her chest was exposed, revealing a triangular burn mark. Forearm and temple showed the same signs of torture and a thin line of blood ran down her head where someone had hit her with so much force the skin had burst open. Behind her on the living room wall the Tides’ sign of a blue wave was displayed with graffiti as well as the words ‘This is for Ericson.’

“Fuck!” The yell of the detective ripped through the silent room. His face reflected the horror he was looking at.

Richard scanned his surrounding, making sure that the offenders were nowhere near anymore, before walking over to the hunched figure. Her face was wet from being pushed under water, but it didn’t seem like she had been killed by getting drowned. The lips and wrists of the woman were coloured a deep blue indicating something else the android apprehended. He quickly took a small blood sample from the forehead. As it touched his tongue the analysis of the blood components rolled into his field of view. _Blood type A-, 21 μmol/l iron_ and unfortunately the conformation of his suspicion: _ 150 mg/kg thirium._

“She was killed with blue blood.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They didn't make it in time, but maybe now Nines will trust Gavin's gut feeling a little more. I am sorry that I made you think they started to get along, as you know Gavin is not an easy person. It's two steps forward, one step back with him. He doesn't make sense to our favorite android yet.  
Have a good time, I am looking forward to what you think about this chapter and I will hurry with the next one!


	8. White shirt, black holster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early easter-update! I originally planned to post every two weeks (if managable), but I was quick with this one and we can all use some stuff to read during quarantine. So happy easter to everyone celebrating!
> 
> Disclaimer: Some light self blaming and mentions of insomnia  
Other than that no violence for once, haha ^^ have a calm chapter with some shower thoughts.
> 
> I took the freedom to make Gavin have my taste in music. If you want to know what Gavin is listening to, it's common ground by our last night. Just because I'm listening to it right now. Alternative metal, wups, so if you don't like it, just stick to imagining some soft rock ^^ I just thought the lyrics were really fitting. "If different thinkers are enemies. Just think what we could be if our thoughts were in harmony"

Gavin felt as if he was about to throw up, knees weak and hands shaking. It was like his first crime scene all over again, where he had gotten sick and ran outside to puke. Dead bodies were by far not an unusual sight to him anymore, but this was different. He had talked to that woman only 45 minutes ago and now she hung there, lifeless, with wounds all over her body. This didn’t feel like walking into a crime scene with a cold corpse already on the floor. He tried to suppress the nausea climbing up his throat by talking over it and distracting himself with swearing.

“Fuuuck!!” He ran both hands through his hair, making it stand up in all directions. How could he call himself Detective if he couldn’t even safe this one woman? The feeling in his stomach grew worse.

“Detective?”

“What?”

“Here is something.” The prick’s voice was actually a welcome distraction at the moment. Walking over Gavin tried not to look at the body again. The robot had crouched down next to the table where some pieces of glass laid. Some of them were bloody, coloured a deep red. “The sample doesn’t match hers. It appears that it belongs to one of the perpetrators. She must have fought them off pretty good for a while.”

“Well that’s at least something.” He watched his warped reflection in one of the bigger shards. “She gave us an advantage.” The android raised his head at the detective’s quiet words, his face smooth as always, only eyebrows drawn together a little. Before he could say anything though, the sound of sirens coming closer appeared outside. Gavin turned around and walked towards the door. He needed to get out of here if he wanted to get rid this feeling constricting his throat.

Hank, Chris and a few other police officers hastily left their cars to rush towards the porch Gavin was stepping off of.

“We came as fast as possible.” As the young officer saw his colleagues face he closed his mouth quickly.

“Didn’t go well, hm?”, the Lieutenant asked, lowering his weapon. Gavin only shook his head. Anderson gave the very concerned looking Officer Miller a sign with his head to go inside. Chris hesitated for a second, but then he left to walk over to Nines that awaited him in the doorway. Hank waited until he was out of hearing range before turning around again. “You know it’s not your fault.”

“Yes it fucking is. We shouldn’t have left her unprotected.” Gavin felt the frustration build up in him.

“You couldn’t have known that they were targeting her. In fact you were the first one to connect the pieces. Not even your android was that fast.”

“Anderson, spare me the speech.”

“Alright, alright.” The older man lifted his hands before looking over to Miller and Nines on the porch talking about something you couldn’t hear that far off. “At least yours is not as over polite as mine. Connor drives me crazy with that sometimes.”, he chuckled in an unsuccessful attempt to build a conversation. “Heard he gave you that souvenir on your cheek.”

“Yeah, what’s it to you?” Detective Reed wasn’t in the mood for small talk and that overly friendly behaviour of Anderson bugged him, making him feel pitied. He just wanted to get home and call it a day. He could feel the Lieutenant’s eyes on him, but he didn’t make a comment on the rude response.

“I’ll take over from here. Get home, Reed. You look like shit.” With that Hank walked away from him and over to the house.

For once Gavin was actually grateful to surrender a case to Anderson. He lifted his head to the sky and took a deep breath. The birds sitting in the trees next to the road chirred happily in the sun that had shown itself the first time after a while. Some wind rustled through the colourful leafs on the ground, making them roll over the asphalt. The air was cold, but felt pleasant in his lungs. Nature sure as hell didn’t care about murders and gruesome people.

Lighting a cigarette he leaned against the police car. The nicotine hitting his lungs and watching the smoke curl out of his mouth soothed his nerves a little for now. He watched as his tincan of a partner talked to Chris and Hank while pushing back that stupid hair strand that always fell into his forehead. Anderson patted his shoulder before him and Chris went inside and the android walked down the stairs towards Gavin.

“Everything okay, Detective?”, he asked in his deep voice. The blue stripe on his upper arm reflected the sunlight so brightly the smaller man had to squint his eyes.

“Yeah, let me finish this and then just go. We still have to bring that deviant corpse moulding in the trunk back to the analytics team at the DPD.”

The robot nodded and entered the car, waiting for his partner who finished his smoke quickly. Gavin joined him shortly after, still some of the cigarette left, but he put it out nonetheless. This place made him uncomfortable and he only felt that weight rolling off his chest the more distance they brought between them and the Appoline Street.

“I told Lieutenant Anderson and Officer Miller about the blood and that we need a more detailed analysis of it. I informed them as well about Miss Jackson’s cause of death.”, Nines said, breaking the silence.

“Good.” The short answer made the android look to his side, almost a little surprised though he didn’t reply.

They drove back to the Police Station in silence that Gavin was thankful for. When they arrived his white jacketed partner got the broken deviant out of the trunk and carried it inside. Tina saw them enter the office and rushed over to them.

“Shit, Gavin, what happened? Are those strangulation marks?!”

“I’m fine, Tina. The chase got a little rough, that’s all.” His friend didn’t look convinced, but she knew arguing with him about it wouldn’t lead to anything.

“Richard, your head. Do you need anything to repair that?”

The RK900 raised his eyebrows as if he only just now remembered that he had a wound himself. “No, thank you for your concern, Officer Chen. My skin layer can regenerate itself as far as no major components were damaged.” He made a few steps forward before turning around again. “I will bring this deviant to the evidence room now and inform Cyberlife about everything that happened so they can analyse the body.”

“Yeah yeah, you don’t have to tell me everything you’re doing. See you tomorrow.”, Gavin responded, arms akimbo. Nines looked at him as if he tried to figure out a hidden message in his words for a second, then he finally turned away and left down the office.

“Goodbye, Detective.”

Tina threw Reed a long look after Nines was out of sight. “Since when are you friendly to him?”

“I’m not.”

“Well, you didn’t tell him to fuck off, so that’s friendly for your standards.”

Gavin grunted as a response, his friend still eying him warily. “Has just been a long day, Tina, really.”

“Uh-huh. I think you really need to get out a bit, Gav. You can’t just burry yourself in work all day every day. We all need some compensation every now and then.”

Trying to give her a little smile the brown haired man playfully punched her in the arm and walked backwards away from her. “I’ll be better tomorrow, I promise. Catch you tomorrow.” With that he turned around and left for the parking lot. His motorcycle stood a bit off to the side, shining black in the sun. Gavin stopped a moment to let his fingers run over the metal. Although he still came to work with it whenever Nines didn’t pick him up with the police car, he still missed riding it as often as before. No getting stuck in traffic plus the feeling of rushing down the streets as fast as he wanted to without anyone bitching at him for it.

Swinging himself onto the seat as well as putting on the helmet felt good and reassuring. He took a little detour on the way home, passing some parks and the Detroit river that glistened in the light, enjoying the airflow around him just as much as the cruising. He definitely had missed this.

As he reached his apartment he pushed the motorcycle under the small lean-to and unlocked the front door. Everything looked just like he had left it, some takeaway boxes on the kitchen counter, old dishes pilling in the sink and some worn out socks in front of the couch where he had striped them off his feet the evening prior. A single controller for a playstation laid on the dark blue sofa as well as an old blanket. Groaning Gavin went past the chores he really couldn’t bring himself to do right now, shrugging off his leather jacket and throwing it on a stool. The silence that had felt so welcome earlier now grew too prominent in the flat so that he decided to go over to the stereo next to the TV and press the play button, starting to play some soft rock to burble away in the background. The equipment probably was far outdated by now, but he liked it anyway. Putting down his phone, the man in his early thirties walked into his bedroom, ignoring the unmade sheets and going straight to a small plant on the windowsill to water it with the can double the size of the devil’s ivy. The sun shone through the window lighting up the room in a warm gold, waking his desire to smoke on the balcony. As he stepped outside he felt that it was actually colder than it looked like, but he didn’t care. After lighting another cigarette as well as taking a long drag he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes to enjoy the late autumn sun on his face. The music playing in the living room reached him through the open doors.

What a mess today had been. First this unpleasant Cyberlife store owner, arguing with Nines and now, to top it all, Andrea Jackson he couldn’t save. ‘A long day’ had been a total understatement, he felt fucking exhausted. The words ‘For Ericson’ that were written on the wall came back to his mind. Had they really only slaughtered her because he had arrested Monica Ericson? If he wouldn’t have done that, would Jackson still be alive? Gavin took another drag at that thought. The only person connecting Ericson and the Tides was this mysterious ‘Embers’ who had wanted her to join his group. He wondered what kind of person this must be, killing humans for helping deviants and destroying androids in gruesome ways. Gavin had thought _he_ hated androids, but that was a whole other level. This guy seemed like he coordinated the group, but at the same time he could only be the one recruiting new people, a henchman, though he doubted it. The way Ericson had talked about him definitely pointed towards a bigger fish, maybe even the leader. At least now this whole thing was an official case so he could actually work on it and not only wonder who this spectre in the background was. Gavin hated to poke around in the mist.

As he finished his cigarette he already had goosebumbs all over his arm and shivered slightly. He put the stub out in the ashtray next to him before walking back in and closing the door behind him. Stripping off his shirt and pants on the way to the bathroom he hummed a little to the music still bubbling from the next room. He started the shower and got rid of the rest of his clothes while waiting for the water to heat up. His own reflection caught his eye in the mirror over the sink. The bruise on his cheek was still visible though it had turned blue and green over the last day. Beard stubbly, face a bit dirty and messy hair. Grey-green eyes over dark circles stared back at him as well as the scar between them on his nose. Gavin ran a hand over the stubble and down to his throat where purple marks began to form. He recalled the iron grip closing around it, squeezing all air out of him and making his vision black out. Shuddering at the memory he turned away to step under the stream of water rushing down in the shower. The warmth felt great on his hurting body. Although he didn’t like to admit it, it freaked him out how easily the deviant had taken him out and lifted him on the wall. If Nines wouldn’t have tackled the female android he didn’t believe he could have freed himself on his own, despite his claim. The shock following this realisation had totally made him freeze on the spot, immobilizing him and that was the scariest part of it all. He was remembered of what androids could actually be capable off and that only had been a normal vendor model. When Nines had touched him all he could think of was what he was able to do, that he had destroyed the deviant in only a few seconds with such a force the neck had flown everywhere, shattered into small pieces. He had never seen such a stone cold precision and although he knew the tin can had saved his ass back there and being thankful for that, it had scared the living shit out of him. Putting a gun to the android’s chin had been a reflex that automatically activated itself out of fear in combination with Gavin’s police training. He somehow felt sorry for that.

Sighing he laid back his head to let the water splatter on his face. His body felt sore, being hit against a wall, almost choked to unconsciousness and in shock two times this day. All this arguing with ‘plastic prick’ hadn’t made it any better. Why did this dumb piece of scrap metal have to talk back to him so much?

“Fucking android.”, he mumbled under his breath as he laid his aching head against the cool tiles on the shower wall. He always accused him of running away doing his own thing, though he had done the exact same thing the first day they had worked together, not listening to the human’s commands. Cyberlife’s orders were probably ranked higher in his stupid system so that he could go after the suspect. Albeit being drained from having to deal with him, the fight from earlier had made it a bit... easier to work with the tincan. Nines had raised his voice for the first fucking time and he looked freaking pissed, even though it had only been for the blink of an eye. This brief moment of a normal reaction had caused Gavin not to be on edge that much around him anymore. It had eased the situation a little for him, making him forget how stone-still the robot mostly was so that he almost appeared like a real partner.

The events of the last days had exhausted the detective as much as no other case had managed to. A partner being forced on him, and a plastic one as well, then this weird similarity of what Ortiz’ android and Ericson had said during the interrogation and the scene between Jackson and the deviant she had been hiding. Officially this had only been purloinment of other’s property, but it felt as if he had ripped a family apart. Those tears weren’t faked. And the sad eyes of the android called James didn’t want leave his thoughts.

Gavin lazily washed his hair while trying to chase away the memory of what Nines had told him about what they do with deviants at Cyberlife. If what the deviant told them about starting to feel like a human, to sense pain, was true then analysing it through the neck and disassembling it would hurt as well. He had swallowed the question regarding that toping earlier at the DPD. It probably wasn’t the best to ask a robot about this, which had explained the procedure in such a cold and unemotional way. Of course, the dipshit was no deviant, he would never show true emotion. Gavin hated androids, he really did, but he had to admit that those deviants made it hard to despise them. There was this side about them that he could only feel sorry for and these feelings were confusing, creeping him out. How could he feel pity for robot dolls that had a screw loose?!

After the last swirls of shampoo had vanished to his feet, he turned off the shower and stepped out to dry his hair with the towel hanging over the heater. He wrapped it around his waist after he wasn’t soaking anymore and ran a hand through his hair so that the loose strings hanging into his forehead were pushed back. A short ping was audible from the living room, indicating he had gotten a text message. Walking over there, he unlocked his phone and scrolled through his chats.

_Looking forward to Friday ;) – Henry_

Gavin grunted as he read the message. He had totally forgotten about that in all this turmoil. Yesterday there had been this dude hitting on him in that bar he went to after leaving the crime scene at the eden club. And while he had to admit that he had enjoyed the flirting, the man didn’t give up on trying getting him to agree to a date. In the end the detective had given in and accepted Henry’s offer, because he had shown a lot of stamina trying to convince him and Gavin wanted to finally make him shut up. Nonetheless he still wasn’t sure if he should really go. The words of Tina echoed in his head: _ I think you need to get out a bit, Gav. _Maybe she was right. Maybe it would help to do something else for once. Besides, the man was hot. So what was there to lose?

Responding with a quick thumbs-up emoji he shut off the music before going back to his room. He wasn’t particularly skilled with this. Flirting, one night stands were one thing, but keeping in contact via text and writing little messages? That wasn’t exactly his thing. He looked down at his chats from which only seven were remotely used. Below Tina, Anderson, Fowler, Chris and two other Officers, with the last five being only work related, there were a few dead conversations with women or men he had met in bars and hooked up with.

Gavin put the phone to the side, pulled a fresh shirt and boxers out of the closet to change and laid down on his bed. His eyelids felt heavy while looking at the ceiling of his room; however his head was still full of thoughts, preventing him from falling asleep. They had arrested and destroyed two deviants today, but only at the price of one human life. He silently asked himself if that had really been the right thing, although it was exactly what they were supposed to do. There was this dull feeling in his stomach telling him that it wasn’t.

Closing his eyes he tried to find comfort in the cool sheets beneath him. His body called for rest, but he only managed to fall asleep as the sun had long changed for darkness outside, the oddly human eyes of the deviant James burnt into the back of his lids.

* * *

Gavin sipped on his coffee, feeling how the caffeine slowly revived his brain. The milk had drawn funny schemes in the brown beverage between his hands and he immediately had to think of a little tornado looking at it. Some light fell through the partly closed curtains in the kitchen, brightening up the room and the toast sitting in front of him on the counter.

The last two days had been pretty uneventful with mainly sitting at his desk, interviewing a few neighbours in the Appoline Street and filling out reports. God, he would never have thought that he’d be grateful for paperwork, but he was after the rest of the week. It gave him the time to mindlessly follow a task to distract him a bit from all the other thoughts accumulating in his head. He really fucking needed that break. From that darn toaster as well. Yes, he had been at the office, either standing like a pillar or walking around like a vacuum robot cleaning the same spots every five minutes, but he had worked silently the main time, finally not bothering the detective for once. Connor had been more of a pain in the ass, trying to make some conversation with the Lieutenant and staff of the department every now and then. He had seen him and his even taller, ice eyed brother together from time to time while talking silently at the RK800’s desk. What were AIs even telling each other? Asking if all cogs still lubricated and screws tight? Gavin snorted at the thought of that.

Putting his mug and plate into the sink he took a look at his phone. Friday. This evening he had promised that hot guy from the bar to show up for a date. Grunting he went back to his room and took a quick shower. _Alright_, he thought. _Might as well not look like I crawled out of a sewer._ Shaving the stubble of his face made at least one shadow disappear from it, though he couldn’t hide the circles under his eyes. His sleep had improved a little over the last few days, although five hours still wasn’t what you would call good. Sometimes he just couldn’t fall asleep or jolted up from nightmares a few hours after, one weirder than the other. He let a comb run through his hair while brushing his teeth quickly and looking at his phone again for the time. 7:30 am. Time enough. He lazily strolled over to the closet and fished out a pair of black jeans as well as a white shirt before grabbing badge and shoulder holster. Leaving the upper three buttons open he looked at his silhouette in the mirror. His appearance was a little neater than usual, but still casual enough. He had to admit thinking that the shoulder holster brought out his build pretty good. After a last glance he walked out the bathroom to leave his apartment, though not without throwing on his leather jacket with the soft hood.

* * *

“Wow, Gavin, you look great!”

Richard looked up from his conversation with Connor and Anderson, attention raised by Officer Chen’s exclamation. She had talked quietly and for human ears he stood too far away, but being an android benefited him with incredibly sensitive hearing.

“Don’t tell me you gonna have a date today.” The smile on her face was hearable even without seeing it.

“Tina, could you please be a bit more subtle?” Detective Reed fiddled with the coffee machine in the break room while his friend stood behind him with a mug in the hands herself. Richard turned back around to man and android, still listening to the conversation at the other end of the room.

“So Jackson was killed with blue blood. Don’t they normally drown their victims?” The Lieutenant’s question was directed at his partner’s twin.

“Yes, my analysis showed they used a lot on her. Way more than Ericson did on her targets. It was enough to poison Jackson’s system rapidly, compromising her senses and even turning lips and wrists blue where the skin was thin. The thirium killed her in only a few minutes. I think they underestimated its power, not knowing how to measure it out like Ericson did.”, the android answered. While the older man ran a hand through his beard and grumbled something, his hearing switched back to the break room.

“You have to tell me everything about her!” The detective didn’t answer. “Ohh, so it’s not a she this time.” All she got was a grunt, but she acted as if it was a full answer. “That’s great! How did you meet him?”

“In a bar. Wouldn’t shut up before I gave him my number and agreed to this.” They started to walk back to the office towards Reed’s desk in front of Richard’s, who now stood over at Anderson’s.

Connor took a small silvery coin out of his pocket to roll it between his fingers. “Apparently the press will air the first report on this group committing the crimes today.”

“Yeah, giving them even more attention. If they at least could keep their name a secret, but no!”, his partner said shaking his head.

Reed’s office chair made a protesting sound as the man let his weight fall onto it, laying his feet crossed on top of the table surface. Richard threw a look over his shoulder as Officer Chen rambled on.

“Mhm, that’s good, you need someone who can keep up with you. To grab you by the horns, you know?”

“Uh-huh.”, he chuckled. “Sounds like I’m the beast in this story.”

Tina Chen laid her head to the side and examined her colleague for a second. “No, you have more of these goats that chase little kids around at the petting zoo.”

“Phck you, Tina.” The words were said playfully with a laugh the detective couldn’t suppress. Richard quickly scanned his appearance. His hair was actually combed today, beard shaved and chewing on a gum. The black jeans and white shirt gave him a former look, despite still having some hair falling into his forehead, sleeves rolled up and the black holster breaking the serious appearance.

“Love you too.”, she responded, winking at the detective before walking away, passing Chris Miller on his way over. Reed exchanged some words with him, but Richard decided to concentrate back on the conversation in front of him.

“Did they already find out who that blood belongs to you found at the crime scene?” Both androids shook their heads simultaneously. “What the fuck are they doing at the laboratory?” The Lieutenant’s eyes flickered up from the ground to something behind the white android, letting his gaze wander up and down for a second. “Who are you and what did you do with Reed?” Richard turned around to see that the detective had walked over to their little group. “Thought you were married with work.”

“Haha, you’re such a jokester, Anderson.” Reed crossed his arms in front of his chest, eyebrows set low. Now that he was closer, the RK900 could smell that he had actually used soap this morning. _Components: Almond oil, lime and sage._ The detective turned his head to Richard, catching his gaze for a second before he burst into laughter.

“What? What’s so funny?”, the android asked, slightly annoyed and displeased with his partner wheezing at his face.

“Didn’t know you tincans could get bruises. That’s hilarious!”

Everyone turned to look at Richard’s face which showed a blue spot right on his cheekbone where he had been hit by the deviant.

“I’m glad that I can serve as an amusement to you, _Detective Reed_, but that is nothing to choke on your tongue for. The RK series’ skin works similar like human one, along with blood seepage when small vessels are damaged.” The android’s sharp sarcastic answer made the Detective stop laughing slowly and raise his hands in a defeated move. Though he refrained the snappy response Richard had awaited.

“Wow, grumpy robot.”, Anderson mumbled quietly, though the two androids could still hear it. Before anyone could say something to that they were interrupted by Chris Miller calling from the break room.

“Gavin, it’s on.”

Everyone’s heads flew in his direction as the young Officer turned up the volume of the TV. Curious all four of them went over to the big screen hanging from the ceiling.

Nines still was surprised that Reed hadn’t snapped at him. Normally the Detective would have missed no opportunity to start a fight, but in the last few days since their conflict the situation between them had eased a bit. He was still calling him names, dipshit or scrap metal for example, yet he wasn’t as aggressive at the moment. Nonetheless the android had expected more reaction to his words.

The voice of the woman on the news grew louder. “... has been a horrible murder committed by a gang calling themselves ‘The Tides’. They destroyed an android and slaughtered its owner who had known and hid his servant’s deviated state. Two days ago they tortured and killed another victim for helping awakened androids, making themselves known throughout Detroit. Apparently they leave a blue wave sprayed with graffiti at their crime scenes along with the words ‘The Tides are inevitable’. Could that mean that they are only getting started to cleanse the city from androids and everyone supporting them?”

Hank snorted loudly at her question. “They sure as hell have a talent for spreading panic.”

In that moment Fowler’s voice resonated from behind them. “Reed!”

The addressed man turned his head and stepped back a little so he could see the office. “Yes, boss?”

“Just got in an emergency call about an attack on a Cyberlife transporter. There is talk of a white mercedes van that supposedly was sighted nearby.” The bold man gestured in their direction. “Your case.”

Detective Reed clapped his hands together, his face showing almost something like anticipation. “They came out of their rabbit hole.” Spinning around to his partner towering over him, he added: “Let’s go, tin can. Break’s over.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can see that I was traumatised by a goat as a child -.- ^^  
By the way, when I describe Nines as 'the white android' I refer to his jacket. Connor's the grey android. And like Rich explained a little, their skin works similar to human one's. Just to explain what I settled on with how the skin works in this story. It's like a soft coat. There are two stages of retrieving it. The first only makes the layer transparent, so you can see the plastic beneath but it still feels like skin and they can get bruises. The second would be to withdraw it completely down to white, hard plastic and metal.  
Edit: By the way, inspiration for Gavin's look comes from GraysonFin, a cosplayer that portrays Reed very good I think. Google Grayson Fin Reed shirt and it's the fourth picture from the left, the black and white one. Or follow this link: https://www.pinterest.de/pin/524669425337318297/
> 
> See you in the next chapter! If you want you can visit me on my tumblr in the mean time, it's headfulloffantasy (now with my updated avatar I have here as well ^^) Will post some Reed900 stuff and news on soft spot there. I'm always open for a chat as well :D


	9. Trust my lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, welcome back for Chapter Nine(s)! Hehe :D  
As you may have noticed, I expand the time slots between the canon events a lot to make them fit to the story's pace. The game happens really fast in just a few days, so I took the freedom to stretch that a bit. I will make it noticeable though when the canon story going on in the background moves on. I totally forgot to mention that I made Gavin a few years younger as well, so yeah, he's 34 in this. Reason is explained later in the story.  
So for now have fun with the update!  
Disclaimer: -implied hostage taking  
\- implied violence  
\- liiiiieeeeesss

White shards of glass glittered in the sun, covering the ground like a layer of diamonds. They were so tiny you couldn’t make out the pieces themselves, only the light reflecting off their sharp edges. Being shattered by a sudden impact they surrounded a transporter lying on its side with one of the tires burst, the black material hanging off the rim in shreds. The faces of three androids were displayed on the blue background and white honeycomb structure together with the sentence ‘Get yours today!’. Cyberlife’s signature flaunted under the picture, now scratched up and directed at the sky.

The yellow police line flickered as they went through it to enter the crime scene, the human taking the lead. An ambulance was parked not far away, its circling lights flashing up in a small puddle on the ground from time to time. It had rained earlier this morning and the air was still a bit clammy. Clutching to the blanket the paramedics had wrapped around his shoulders, the witness sat in the back of the red and white car, feet crossed on the wet street. It was a young man with black hair and dark skin, which had been grazed open a bit on his chin. Passing a few uniformed officers, Detective Reed went straight towards him.

Richard adjusted his jacket as he watched his partner come to a halt in front of the other human who raised his head. The android looked over to the colleagues standing next to the tipped over transporter Reed had ignored completely. Their eyes followed the man in the leather jacket, gazes bitter, faces hard. He nodded in their direction the moment they noticed him.

“Good morning, Officer Jones.”, he greeted the woman he had gotten to know at the beginning of the week as the detective had emptied her purse’s contents on the ground. She returned a quick smile, but turned around to whisper something to her neighbour, a tall man with blonde hair.

“Even the terminator has better manners.” The words were said hushed, though no challenge for the RK900’s hearing sensors. He decided to ignore that, because it definitely wasn’t meant for his ears, so he just caught up to his partner.

“So, what exactly happened?”, the brown-haired man asked, not hesitating to jump right in with the questions. Richard decided it would be best to intervene before he could offend the next person.

“Hello, my name is Richard and this-“ He threw the detective a warning look. “-is Detective Reed. We would like to ask you some questions about the heist.” Reed rolled his eyes, but he remained silent.

“O-of course. I’m Jack. What do you need to know?” The young man nodded cooperative although his slightly trembling hands showed that he was still a bit in shock.

“You were the driver of the Cyberlife transporter, Jack?”, the android continued. His opposite bobbed his head affirmative again. “My analysis revealed that one of the tires was shot, is that right?”

“Yeah.” Gulping, the courier started to talk. “I had to deliver a brand new set of androids to a Cyberlife store. The gang, they came out of nowhere, just suddenly stood on the street with masks over their faces. I hit the brakes, but then they shot my tire so that I lost control over the car. When I tried to steer the transporter, it turned over to its side.” A passing paramedic quickly pressed a bottle of water into Jack’s hands. “There was glass everywhere, but luckily nothing serious happened. Then they cracked open the door and pulled me out.” The detective’s jaw worked as he listened to the frightened man, barely more than a boy. “They had guns. Really big ones. They threatened me not to move, tied my hands together and made me lay on the ground. I couldn’t see much, but I heard how they got all the androids from the back of the van, yelling at them. They had been in sleep mode before, but I think they activated themselves during the crash.”

“Could you see how many offenders there were? Did they say anything?”, Reed asked, taking over the interview.

“I saw two, though there were at least three more I heard. The ones at the car just yelled at the androids to move. And someone was shooting at some point, though I don’t know why.”

“And the two you saw?”

“I couldn’t get a look on their faces, but one had a tattoo of a tiger on his calf. Told me not to work for Cyberlife anymore, no matter how urgently I would need work. They said they steal everyone’s jobs with the robots and that they would replace me soon as well.”

The detective subconsciously ran two fingers over the scar on his nose. “Why are you working as a driver for them anyway? Don’t they have self driving car’s and shit?”

“Yeah, but that was a very valuable delivery. A human always has to give their signature when expensive products are being transferred.” He sighed. “I hope they don’t fire me now.”

Reed huffed at that. “I think you can count yourself lucky that you walked out of this with just a few scratches.”

“Oh, they promised not to hurt me if I’d stay still. Said something about that I was just trying to make a living like them, however that I would get betrayed by the system sooner or later. They didn’t injure me though.”

“Thank you for your cooperation, Jack. The Detroit Police Department will come back to you if we have any more questions.”, the RK900 interposed.

“Yeah, uh, thanks.” Reed’s addition sounded a little awkward next to his partner’s polite phrasing, though Jack didn’t seem to mind. He gave both of them a nod.

“No problem.”

As human and android had moved away from the ambulance a bit, Richard’s partner sighed. He kicked a small pebble in front of his feet.

“Looks like they really only target humans that support or help deviants. Kid doesn’t know how lucky he actually was.”

“I agree. Though they don’t only act against deviants. The androids from that transport came right out the factory; they weren’t even completely programmed yet.”

“You heard him.”, Reed replied while pointing back to the young man with his head. “They think Cyberlife and their android’s steal their jobs. Makes sense that they want to prevent new ones to arrive.” They stopped at the transporter, glass crunching under their shoes.

“Let me recreate the scenario. Maybe I can find something Jack didn’t witness.” His partner rolled his eyes up and sighed annoyed.

“Yeah, do whatever, tin can.” With that he turned to walk away, leaving Richard to his own. As he passed his three colleagues still standing off to the side a bit, they began to whisper and eye him deprecatingly. “He doesn’t care for anyone except himself and his career.”, his sensors picked up, although it was said silently. The android was sure the human had noticed it as well, but he didn’t react, just crouched down on the other side of the van and started to investigate something himself. Detective Reed seemed not to be very popular with his co-workers; apart from Officer Chen and maybe Miller, Richard had noticed that he didn’t get along with the rest of the DPD really well.

The android let his sight wander over the crashed transporter and the asphalt around it. In analysis mode he marked the destroyed tire, the damaged door coiled like a sardine can together with a few black wheel tracks not far away. Recreating the scenarios, he saw the schemes of men enter the street before the Cyberlife transporter braked, leaving some of the tracks on the road. Unfortunately, the analysis of them shooting the tire remained incomplete due to the missing bullet, but it was obvious that the car hadn’t crashed on its own. The outlines of the perpetrators struggled to open the driver door once the vehicle had come to a halt, so they bent the metal open, pulling Jack’s simulated model out and onto the street. After that the recreation ended. Richard walked a few steps away from the wreck, scanning the ground for more evidence. When his eyes met some more wheel tracks differing from the ones of the Cyberlife van, he was able to complete the simulation. The patterns belonged to a Mercedes transporter that had been parked close. For the time being he could only simulate three men here, because of the driver’s statement, yet there could have been more. They forced the androids from one car into the other without any resistance from the machines, obedient to the humans commanding them.

“Hey, plastic! Come here.” Richard raised his head at his partner’s voice. The man looked at the ground, fixating something with his eyes he couldn’t see from this angle. As he walked over, the RK saw that is was a splatter of some blue liquid a few metres away from the car wreck. “Is that-?”

“Thirium? It appears like it.” The android knelt down to dip his fingers into the substance before bringing it up to his mouth.

“Ugh, that’s fucking disgusting. You sure you wanna be a forensic lab on legs?”, Reed grunted at the sight, nose wrinkled.

“It’s not about what I _want_, Detective. That’s just one of my features.”

“Oh excuse me, Mr. Robo Cop.” The sarcasm dripped from his words. Richard decided to ignore him.

“It is blue blood. Belongs to an AK700.” With a quick scan he started to recreate the scenario. The androids had been lined up a few metres away to enter the van, but one of them had made a run, got shot where they were standing at the moment and managed to drag himself further away into one of the teeing streets.

“Didn’t the boy say something about a shot he heard?”, Reed stated. His partner nodded after exiting his simulation mode.

“It tried to escape from the perpetrators and ran over there-“ He pointed towards the alley. “- when it got shot. Apparently, there was no crucial damage caused, because it managed to flee further.”

“Deviant?”

The LED on the android’s temple circled as he considered the thought. “That is hardly probable, coming directly from the factory. Still, there is a slight possibility. Besides, it would be unusual for a normal android to try to escape. The others were obedient to the humans.”

“So deviant. Let’s see if they caught it.”, the detective replied, about to walk over to the byroad for a closer look.

“No, something interrupted them. The recreation shows they hastily entered the transporter and left fast.”

Reed turned around with a face that showed that he was deep in thoughts. “Who called the DPD and the ambulance?”

“An old lady. She lives around here and saw what happened from her window.”

“But she wasn’t on the street, right?”

“No.”

Reed growled. “Then the fuckers wiretapped the police radio. They knew they had to disappear quickly.”

“You could be right. They wouldn’t have let the deviant go otherwise. It is a risk to them.” Silence hung between them for a moment before the detective continued the thought where his partner left off.

“Do you think it can tell us more about the Tides? Maybe it heard or saw something that could give us a hint.”

“Yes, that is possible. We should follow the trail of thirium and try to find it.” The android had his scanning vision already enabled, making the blue blood glow in front of his eyes.

“Alright, but we take the car. It has quite some advance. If we want to catch it, we have to be faster.” With that the man rushed off in the direction of said car, not waiting for the RK. He already sat on the driver seat, impatiently drumming his fingers against the steering wheel as Richard opened the door. He quickly turned around and gave the three officers behind him a small nod.

“Goodbye Officers.” Ducking his head as he climbed into the police car, he sat down and closed the door. Reed eyed him from the side.

“Why do you even talk to them?”, he asked while he put the car in first gear and slowly rolled down the street so that the other could follow the line of blue blood with his eyes. Richard sat up straight, eyes fixed on the road outside.

“It’s polite, Detective. You should try it.” That earned the android an angry glare.

“You’ll see. They will talk shit behind your back before you can even say ‘beep-boop’.”

“I believe nobody can overthrow _you _as the master of finding new insults.” As always, the words were accentuated incredibly polite and distanced, causing the man next to Richard to snort loudly. “You have to turn left here.”, he added as he saw the trail of glowing thirium move over the street.

“Phck you, plastic prick. At least I have the balls to say it to your face.”

“Detective Reed, -“ There was almost something like a faint chuckle in the android’s words. “I am a machine. I don’t take part in social bickering, it doesn’t affect me.”

“Perfect, then I can do this freely.”, the human answered, one hand on the wheel, one held to Richard’s nose with the raised middle finger. The RK900’s face became empty and expressionless again.

“If it makes you feel better, you can do it as often as you please. It won’t change anything though. You have to turn right in 50 metres by the way.”

“Fucking scrap metal.”, the detective mumbled as he drove to the right, passing some more buildings. It almost seemed like he responded better to anger than to apathy, although his programming told the android to remain calm and polite during tensed social interactions.

After some more minutes of driving around the neighbourhood in silence, interrupted every now and then by Richard’s directions, they turned into a street in a more private area of Detroit. Some tightly packed houses lined the road and the android’s eyes followed the trace hypnotically.

“Over there.”, he said, pointing at the driveway of one of them as it went out of his sight. “The trail goes through the fence gate and into the backyard.”

After the detective had stopped the car, the human like machine was about to step outside, but was held back by a hand on his arm. When he turned his head, Reed looked into his eyes.

“I will go on my own.” Richard tilted his head to the side, LED circling at his partner’s words. Hadn’t the human learned anything?

“May I remind you that you are obliged-“

“-obliged to work together with you? Yes, you won’t let me forget about it. It’s like your hobby to mention that every five minutes.” His voice was calm, but he sighed and rolled his eyes nonetheless before letting go of the android’s forearm. “If a deviant really just ran through their garden, they won’t be very happy to see another right at their door.”

“I’m not-“, the RK tried to set it straight, but was cut off.

“Alright I get it. Just let me do this one thing alone and stay in the car.”

“Detective, I advise strongly against that. If it really is a deviant and should it still be located at this house, it could be aggressive. Going alone increases the risk of humans getting harmed. You _and _the residents.”

“Please, Nines.” The request surprised Richard. “If you want me to trust you, you have to do the same.” You could almost see the tension sparking as they stared at each other over the centre console. Reed’s gaze was serious, trying to convince his opposite. For once there was no deprecation in his voice. The android quickly tried to assess the situation. What the detective wanted went against all calculations, but at the other hand it looked like he had just made his first peace offering. Improving their work relationship was crucial for all following events and cases and this could maybe be the only chance he would get to implement that, the only time the man would comply with him. He could have easily ordered the android to stay in the car and he knew that. But he didn’t.

“Okay, Detective. I am going to trust you. If anything happens though, you call me immediately.”

“Alright, tin can, don’t chicken out. I think I can handle a little interrogation.” There was a small smirk lingering on his face. “But I can agree to this. Do I need your number for that or shit?” The moment his phone suddenly went off ringing he threw the android an annoyed look. “You did not.”

Richard, whose LED went back to a steady blue after the call, explained calmly: “I have the phone numbers of all staff from the precinct. Just in case.”

“Ugh, dipshit, if you ever use that outside of work, you’re dead.”

“Of course, Detective.” Richard refrained from reminding Reed that he wasn’t alive and therefore couldn’t exactly be killed. Correcting the mode of expression would probably upset the human again.

“See you in a bit, Nines.” With that the human stepped out of the car, adjusting the holster under his leather jacket.

Gavin inhaled deeply after the door fell shut behind him with a thud. The air had warmed a little and it promised to become a beautiful day in late autumn, but his thoughts were far off. As he walked over the street, setting the holster in place under his jacket so the gun wouldn’t be visible, the knot in his stomach slowly loosened and untangled. Luckily, it seemed like the android had bought the excuse he had pulled out of his sleeve to convince him to let him go alone. He couldn’t use Fowler on his ass for not cooperating with this talking roomba. For a second the detective had been a little nervous, fearing that the robot would look through him, yet he didn’t. Nines could have caused way more problems with him walking off on his own so that Gavin was surprised that he had let him go that fast. _Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth_, he thought to himself, sighing kind of relieved as he pressed the doorbell. Arms akimbo, he looked down at the old welcome mat to his feet. He could almost feel his partner’s eyes on his back.

The door swung open to reveal a short stocky woman in her mid-forties, big dark eyes, brown skin and curly hair.

“Yes?”, she asked sceptically as her eyes caught sight of the golden badge on his hip, confirming Gavin’s suspicion. The deviant didn’t run here for nothing, jumping from street to street like a hare on its escape.

“Mrs.-“ He quickly eyed the names next to the door by leaning back a little. “Rose Chapman? My name is Detective Reed. I’m from the Detroit Police and would like to talk to you. Can I come in?”

“Talk about what?” The woman stood in front of him like a rock, unmoving and with a stand that reminded him of a lioness.

“About the trail of blue blood leading into your garden for example.” Taking a step back the expression on her round face hardened. “Don’t worry. I haven’t come to arrest anyone. I just wanna talk.”

Mrs. Chapman looked him up and down from head to toe, assessing if she should let that cop into her house before she stepped aside.

“Thank you.”, the detective mumbled as the door closed behind him. The interior of the small house had a simple but comfy aesthetic, contrasting the grim look on its owner’s face.

“What do you want?”

“I need to talk to it. It’s-“

“I won’t show you where _he_ is.”, she interrupted him, stressing the pronoun. “You can tell me what you want to say and I will pass it on.”

“Mrs. Chapman, like I said earlier I’m not here to arrest ... him. I just need some answers about the heist.”

“Yes, the heist he’s been traumatised by! A gun wielding cop is the last thing he could use right now after being shot.”

Gavin raised his hands and looked her in the eyes before reaching for his pistol and laying it to the ground. He couldn’t believe what he was doing here. “I just want to talk. If I want to catch those who did that, I need more information.”

Rose Chapman’s gaze hadn’t loosened on him, but her face softened a bit, body stand relaxing slowly. “You won’t take him with you?”

“No.”

“Promise.”

The detective swallowed hard. “I promise I won’t take him with me.”

“Okay.” A sigh escaped the woman, being a bit relieved though still vigilant. “He’s in the laundry room, behind the kitchen together with my son Adam.”

Gavin nodded while he gave her a small reassuring smile. He made his way through the kitchen and over the door Rose had pointed towards. As he opened it carefully, stepping into the dim lit room, something already leaped at him to press his body against the wall.

“AK!”, he heard someone shout. There was a red hectic blinking light in front of his face together with widened eyes and hands grabbing him by the collar of his jacket. This time though Gavin was prepared. Fixating the other’s wrist against him with one hand he rammed his elbow into the crook of his arms to bring his opposite closer, just like Nines had done with him a few days prior. Yet instead of hitting the android’s cheek, he let his arm dart behind its neck and pressed the face against the wall with his elbow while sliding out of the gap between the wall and the other’s body. His wrist still grasped, the detective bent it to the robot’s back and pushed his attacker to the plastered concrete.

“Calm down! I’m not gonna hurt you!” His words met deaf ears as the android tried to wriggle free. In a sign of obligingness, he loosened the grip on the other’s arm and slowly moved away from him with hands held up. Hesitantly the robot turned around, LED still red and face wary. “I’m not armed. Just wanna talk.”, Gavin said for the almost fifth time today.

“You are from the police. You want to take me away.” The androids voice sounded unsettled, scared even.

“No, no, I promise I won’t.” Now that he could take a closer look at his opposite, he noticed the patch of blue blood seeping through the clothes covering his shoulder where the bullet must have hit the android. It was the model of a young male, light brown hair and fair skin.

There was the sound of someone exhaling a breath they’ve been holding behind Gavin. Turning his head, he only now noticed the man in his mid-twenties sitting in front of a camp bed with bandages spread before him. “Adam Chapman?”

“Y-yes?”

“Could you tell this-“, he swallowed the insult quickly. “-him, that he doesn’t need to worry? Your mother let me in. I only have a few questions.”

The young man nodded before standing up. “AK, it’s alright. He won’t harm you.”

That brought the deviant’s LED back to yellow and although he still eyed Gavin sceptically, his posture relaxed a bit. “What do you want from me?” His voice was slightly unsteady.

“I need to know what happened at the heist. You- fled, right?” He was given a small nod as an answer. The robot’s face now reflected the horrors he was remembered of. He still wore the plain white outfit with the blue stripe and triangle Gavin had seen the androids at the Cyberlife store wear as well. It was like a neutral uniform before they were assigned to a specific purpose.

“They threatened and forced us to climb into that transporter. I was so scared. They hit some of the others with the butts of their guns.” Its LED spun again as the robot walked back to Adam and sat on the camp bed. “I ran out of panic. It was pure luck that they didn’t hit anything vital when they shot me. Then there was this-this pain in my shoulder. It only came when I had already run down two streets, but then it felt like an explosion.” Unconsciously the android raised a hand to the wound. Gavin knew what he was talking about. He had felt the same when he was shot during his time as an Officer, first the shock numbing everything and then a ripping pain.

“How did you even find your way here?”

The AK700 lifted his head at that to look the detective into the eyes. “Someone gave me the address in the warehouse where we were put into interim storage.”

“Hold up, you mean an android?” It nodded again. “How did you even become deviant?”

“I ... was awoken. I don’t know by who, it all went so fast. I just know that I woke up, left with this address in my head. When the storage workers came towards me, I quickly blended in with the rest until we were loaded in the Cyberlife transporter. The next thing I remember is us driving and then a loud bang before we crashed to the side.” His face looked exhausted as he told his story, figure sunken down. “They pulled us out one by one, always screaming to our faces.”

“I know it’s not easy, but can you tell me more about what you witnessed? Could you see their faces or get a sample of their voices?”

This time the android shook his head. “No. They wore masks and just yelled and threatened to shoot if we wouldn’t obey.” The detective let his shoulders slump in resignation. “But – but I heard how one of them said something about a warehouse. He told the driver to bring us there.” With an almost hopeful expression it turned its face towards the human. “If that is of any help.”

“Yes, phck, yes! That’s something! If we search for a warehouse with a white transporter, we should be able to surprise them.” Gavin tried to contain his relief that this hasn’t been for nothing, that there was an actual trace now. If the one sitting in front of him wouldn’t be a crime witness, and an android on top of that, he could have kissed his head right now. The android’s LED turned blue again together with a hesitant smile sneaking on his face.

“I’m happy I could do my part to arrest these assholes.” The detective and Adam still sitting on the ground both looked at him surprised.

“You guys can swear?”

The android’s smile widened. “Of course.”

“Huh.” Gavin’s response was barely more than a grunt. The AK700 looked back at the young man assisting him with his wound, expression peaceful. Actually, it would have been the detective’s job to arrest the deviant now for being a disobedient machine, but he couldn’t bring himself to break his promise. The thing still creeped him out, though it hadn’t hurt any humans. He had just run for his life out of fear to … die? Be destroyed? Whatever it was he had seen on his face earlier it had been a genuine emotion. What was one deviant more in this city? He wouldn’t harm anyone, given that he had to hide and stay undetected anyway. So, what was there to bending the rules a bit.

“Alright, I have to leave now before my partner becomes leery of me being away that long.” He caught the deviant’s eyes with his gaze, staring him down. “I will let you go for now, but the second I sense you taking a step in the wrong direction we are on your ass. And believe me when I say that it’s not gonna be fun.”

The android nodded hastily. “I won’t. Thank you, Detective.”

Gavin had to swallow around the lump sitting in his throat. _He_ could make this decision, but he knew Nines wouldn’t have approved letting a deviant go. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t be able to go against his program and he had made pretty clear that he didn’t want anything earlier. If he had come with him, this android would already be sitting in the police car on his way to getting disassembled at Cyberlife. His gut feeling had told him that the deviant was here as well as not to take the RK900 with him. And how glad he was that he hadn’t.

When he turned around to the door, he was greeted by Rose standing a few metres away and looking at the scene in front of her. “Thank you for keeping your promise.” Her words were almost soft, although he could still make out the tone of a person protecting their family.

“Mrs. Chapman, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Of course.” She had picked up that he wanted to speak in private, so that the dark-haired woman waited for him to leave the laundry room to close the door behind him. They both walked back to the kitchen, out of the deviant’s and Adam’s hearing range.

“You have to move from here.”, the man declared. An eyebrow shot up on Rose’s face.

“We will definitely not.”

“You don’t understand, it’s too dangerous! There are deviants out there passing on your address left and right!” Regarding the look on her face, Gavin was almost certain she knew about that. Maybe she even was the origin of this chain. “There is a gang out there _killing _people for helping androids.”

“I’m not afraid of _‘The Tides’_, if you’re referring to the gang they talked about on the news. I won’t tremble before some self-proclaimed sheriffs terrorising Detroit!”

“Mrs. Chapman, please.” The urgent phrasing got her to look at his face that was furrowed concerned. “I’ve seen what they are capable of. This is not casual anymore and you shouldn’t make the mistake to underestimate them. We don’t know how they get their information yet, but it’s clear that they are organised. The gang won’t leave evidence they don’t want and I think they are going to ‘clean up’ behind themselves, if you know what I mean.” Gavin’s head pointed towards the closed door, behind which the fled deviant sat. Rose’s eyes followed his gesture, now worried wrinkles on her forehead as well. “I can’t arrange protection for you and your family without blowing his cover, so unfortunately you’re alone in this and have to manage without the police’s help. I can’t force you to do anything you don’t want, but I _ask _you as someone whose job it is to protect people to leave if you want to save your family _and_ the deviants. They are after them specifically.”

The woman nodded slightly as she thought about the detective’s request. “I guess we could move to our old farm outside Detroit for a few weeks. But what about the ones needing help in the city?”

“They will find their way somehow, you can figure that out. Just don’t give away your address that openly again. If they find you it would have all been for nothing. Please, for the sake of your son.”

Mrs. Chapman fixated his eyes, returning the intense gaze. “Alright, we will pack our things.”, she agreed, causing Gavin to release a breath he didn’t notice he had been holding.

“Thanks.” Relieved he turned towards the exit. He had to get back before the tin can would become suspicious.

“Detective Reed?” The warm voice held him back. “Thank you. You’re a good man.” Something in his guts turned upside down at those words.

“Just doing my job.”, he muttered while putting the gun on the table back into his holster. He didn’t dare to look back over his shoulder, afraid of the expression the woman could have on her face. “Goodbye Mrs. Chapman.” With that he left for the door and stepped out of the small house. The sun was still shining bright as he walked down the front yard, contrasting the turmoil going on in his head and stomach. He needed a fucking smoke.

Nines still sat in the car like he had left him, perfect upright position, hands folded in his lap, staring ahead with an empty face. The moment he noticed him cross the road, he turned his head slowly.

“Hello Detective. Did you find something?”, he asked as Gavin let himself fall onto the seat next to the white android.

“Nah, no deviant there. It just ran through their garden, heading god knows where.” He tried to sound frustrated, although his heart beat up to his throat. “But I’ve got an idea where we could look for the Tides. The perpetrators probably need a place to let their transporter vanish from the public surveillance and destroy the androids without interruption. Something like a warehouse. We should put that on the wanted list and search all places that could fit for them. Make a call to the precinct for everyone to look out for that.” The android stared at him for a few seconds, face unreadable. “What the phck are you looking at? Make the call, dipshit!”

Nines slowly came alive again, taking his creepy stare off his partner. His LED started circling yellow. “Right away, Detective.”

Keeping quiet about the result of the body scan he had performed on Reed, Richard began to call the DPD. Increased heart rate, avoiding eye contact, insecurely touching his face where a sharp object must have cut the skin on his nose a long time ago. It was obvious the detective had lied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You reached the end of the chapter, thank you for reeding!! (:P couldn't make one pun without the other) I really wanted to integrate Rose in this; she is such a lovely character and I think it isn't talked about her enough! So I came up with this idea of how they got out to the farm. If it wasn't for Gavin (soft spot one), Kara and the others probably wouldn't have found their way to her. He's still an asshole, but with a good heart.  
I don't know how to thank everyone who commented or talks to me on tumblr (you know who's meant ;))! I fricking love the interactions with readers and nothing motivates me like honest comments! So please feel free to share your thoughts. Thank you from the bottom of my heart if you already did and to everyone sticking around for the story!!! This is the best feeling to see that writing and posting is worth it! Much much love <3 <3 <3  
Until chapter 10 :D


	10. The Raid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, it took me a bit longer to update this weekend and I'm still not really satisfied with the result, but I think it's passable and I wanted to give you an update as I had promised. I'm not at my emotional best right now. I hope you can excuse me lacking a bit at the moment.  
There is a little Detroit Evolution reference hidden in this chapter, maybe you can find it. :3 If you haven't seen the movie yet, definitely head to Octopunk Media on Youtube right now! (But tbh, who from the fandom hasn't seen this masterpiece by now ^^)
> 
> Disclaimers: -Violence  
-Hostage taking  
-Manipulation

“Detective Reed?”

“Hm.”

“How come you suspect them at a warehouse?” Silence hung between them for a moment as the city rushed past them outside the window. “Why not a private apartment with a garage? Or a basement? They could have even left Detroit.” The detective turned his head towards the android, one hand on the steering wheel, the other drumming on his thigh. His posture seemed relaxed, but Richard could see how his muscles tensed up after his question.

“I just have a gut feeling, tin can. You don’t understand intuition and I can’t explain how it works, just a human thing I guess.”

“Huh.” The android continued to study his partner. “Is your heart rate always increasing like earlier when you have such a ‘gut feeling’?” As he said that, Reed’s body reacted in the exact same way again, the stats of blood pressure and beats per minute climbing up in the periphery of the machine’s field of vision. A slight redness coloured the man’s face.

“Maybe for once I was just excited to have an idea that could actually get us a head start on this damn case?! Instead of scanning me, you could use the ‘oh so advanced’ processor sitting in your head for something useful, like working for example!”, the detective replied furiously.

_Warning, subject’s anger level is rising. Return to unprovocative behaviour if relationship status is supposed to be preserved._

Maybe Richard had misinterpreted nervousness for anger this time? It was obvious the other had lied to him earlier and although he didn’t know what had happened in that house, he was fairly sure the human was hiding something from him. For now, he shouldn’t pressure the issue anymore, otherwise the situation would only escalate further. Conveniently, he was just receiving a phone call from the precinct. Reed had clarified that they should only be contacted over phone calls to prevent the gang from wiretapping the police radio again.

“Detective, there is a call from Officer Chen for you.”

“What are you waiting for? Answer it and put her on speaker.”

“Alright. Should I enhance her voice or transfer the audio to the car?” His partner eyed him distracted.

“_You _enhance her voice?”

In that moment Richard answered the call, moving his lips in sync with the Officer’s words as he mimicked her voice. “Gavin, can you hear me?”

The detective’s eyes grew big, baffled for a second. “Car! Put the audio on the fucking car!”

“What? What am I supposed to put on which car?”, Tina’s asked confused through the android’s vocal cords. Richard reached out for the police car’s electronical interior and withdrew his skin to interface with it. As his fingers touched the panel, the call transferred automatically to the speakers that had played some silent music a few moments ago. “Gavin?”

Reed composed himself through shaking his head before he answered. “Sorry Tina, wasn’t meant for you.” Richard sensed him glance over at his white hands. “I hear you. What’s up?”

“You were right. Two constables on the beat found a warehouse with a white Mercedes transporter parked in front of it. I told them to retrieve from there, but to stay close and watch their phones.”

“I knew it! See, didn’t I tell you to trust me?” The question was directed at Richard who looked at the wide grin on the detective’s face with a neutral expression. If it wouldn’t be such an awfully human thing to do, he would roll his eyes right now. “Okay Tina, tell them to stay hidden. The perpetrators can’t know we’re on their heels, we have to surprise them. Everyone available at the precinct should get ready for a raid now. We’re there in a bit.”

“Aye aye, Sir, will talk to the captain.”, she replied, conjuring a crooked smile on her colleague’s face. There was some low rustle on the other end of the line before the call was ended. Richard let his hand sink on his leg again while re-establishing his skin-layer.

“Alright, let’s detain those assholes.” Looking to his left the android saw the smirk on his partners face as he pressed down on the accelerator pedal, making the car engine rev up.

They reached the DPD only a few minutes later. The detective was raring to become active, that was evident. He rushed into the precinct, immediately giving out orders and shouting out his commands towards the officers that had prepared themselves for the operation.

“Reed?”

The brown-haired man turned his head from the conversation he had with a female Officer. “Yeah? What is it?”

Captain Fowler waved the man over to where he and Lieutenant Anderson were standing, a bit off to the side. The detective nodded and quickly said “Just bring me an extra gun, okay?” in a hushed voice to the woman in front of him before walking over to his two superiors. “Hank will reinforce you. I want you to go in from two sides and both of you are in charge, so I expect you to work _together _for once, do you understand me?” There was an audible warning in his words as he looked between the grey bearded man and the younger detective. The men eyed each other like alpha wolfs leading their own pack, ready to defend their territory. “And you’ll take the androids with you.” That made both groan at the same time.

“Oh come on, Jeffrey. Don’t be such a killjoy!”, the Lieutenant said through his teeth.

“Right, _Jeffrey_.” Reed stressed his boss’s first name, he obviously hadn’t been offered to call the Captain by. The derision earned him a sharp glance from Fowler, but the detective didn’t seem to care. “This time I actually agree with Anderson.”

“Well, I’m glad you two found a mutual hobby in hating androids, but there is no going around this. The administration is on my ass day and night to make sure I deliver to Cyberlife, so I have to integrate the two in your mission. They will know if I won’t. Besides, I don’t have to worry about as many of my officers risking their lifes!” That silenced both subordinates. “So, actually use that advantage god dammit! I don’t care if you use them as shields or whatever, just make sure to involve them somehow.”

There was a silent rustle of clothes brushing together next to him, Richard had almost not noticed due to listening to the conversation going on a few metres away. As he looked over, he caught the glimpse of a grey and blue shadow passing behind him to his other side. Connor walked around the table his successor model was leaning against to join him, just like a few days prior. “Still no improvement, huh?” The RK900’s brown eyed twin blinked at the scene in front of them, LED circling blue on his temple.

“Not really. Thought it got a bit better, but I think the detective is hiding something from me.”

“Did you try to confront him?” Connor glanced up to his right. Although Richard didn’t have what you would call a relationship with the other RK, he was somehow glad not to be confronted with hostility for a few minutes. Few humans were polite to him at the DPD and even the ones that were, feared him. The other android’s rationality was … pleasant for a change.

“Yes, but he always gets aggressive when I try. He’s blocking me off.”

“Maybe try it again when the situation is not that tensed anymore. Right now, he seems a little indignant.” The RK900 grunted affirmative to that as they both directed their concentration on the humans again.

“Alright, you take both your androids and two Officers each. You’re dismissed for now.” With that the Captain turned around to walk back into his office, leaving Lieutenant and Detective to their own.

“Bad clothing choice for a raid, don’t you think, Reed?”, Hank mocked his colleague for his white dress shirt.

“Phck you, Anderson. Not all of us think hippie patterns are cool.”

The humans parted growling into opposite directions, simultaneously calling for their partners. “Let’s go, Connor.” “Come on, Nines.”

The RK800 sighed. “I thought humans like each other when they have a lot in common.” They rose to their feet, height difference now even more noticeable.

“So I’m not the only one whose social programming often doesn’t fit.”, Richard answered quietly not be heard by anyone else.

The RKs turned away to follow each of their human partners towards their teams, not needing to look at each other to bid their goodbye. The detective stopped at one of the bar tables in the bullpen. A gym bag filled with bullet proof vests stood in front of their feet and Reed took one out while continuing to mutter away.

“Damn Anderson always has to make dumb comments.” Richard suppressed the urge to call attention to the detective’s habit to do the same and often in a way more sharp-tongued manner. “_Bad clothing choice._”, he parroted the Lieutenant. The android threw his partner a look, assessing him from head to toe.

“The shirt and holster suit you. It accentuates your shoulders.” It was a statement, not a compliment. Despite the dry intonation, the detective stopped in his movement and his mouth fell shut. Confused, sceptical and surprised eyes shot up from the fingers trying to put the vest in place, fixating the android.

“Reed, the gun you asked for.” The female Officer Reed had talked to a few minutes ago pulled him out of his stare. She gave him a Glock 17 M while suspiciously looking back and forth between them.

“Thanks Riley. Meeting at the break room in five.” She gave him a quick nod before returning to her other colleagues preparing. If the detective was hiding how startled he had been a few moments ago, he did an eminently well job at that. Nothing of it was noticeable from his body language anymore as he continued to fiddle with the fasteners of his vest.

“Get a move on Nines, we have to get going.”

“Are you referring to the vests, Detective?”

“Of course I am referring to _the vests_. Put it on, idiot.”

Richard raised an eyebrow. “I’m an android, I don’t need-“

“I don’t care, dipshit. If you want to participate in the raid, you’re putting one on. I won’t take someone unprotected with me. They will riddle you with bullets if they get the chance and I’m not looking forward to explain _that _in a report.” It looked like the detective wouldn’t argue about the topic so the android decided it would be best to follow his order. After shrugging off his white android jacket, he started to don one of the black vests to his upper body and over the dark dress shirt and tie. “Let’s go.”

Both human and android walked over to the break room to where Officer Chris Miller and Riley were already waiting.

“You already know Chris. Nines, this is Madison Riley, Officer Riley, this is Nines.”, his partner introduced him to the black woman that eyed him disdainfully.

“_Richard_, a pleasure.” He held out his hand to the female Officer, but she didn’t react to that, arms still crossed in front of her chest.

“Yeah.” She dragged the word on her tongue. The RK900 let his hand sink back to his side. It didn’t seem like she was very keen on working with him.

“Alright guys, we are one team, Anderson and the rest are the second. We will come from two sides. I will split us into pairs to make sure a lot of space is covered so we can circle them and prevent anyone slipping through. Chris, you’ll go with Riley, I’ll pair up with Nines.”

“We can’t let you go alone, that would be ridiculous.”, the brown-eyed woman interposed.

“He won’t be alone, I will make sure to-“

“No one’s talking to you, puppet.” Being interrupted the second time this day, Richard sucked in the air through his nose to cool his heating processor. “He can hardly count as a fourth team member.”

Miller, who had watched the scene nervously, yet silent, decided to step in. “Hey, calm down Madison. He’s actually not that bad.”

“Thanks for your concern, but we’ll manage.”, Reed added, throwing his partner a little glance. The sharp undertone in his voice didn’t allow any backtalk. “Let’s get going before they scram from the warehouse.”

The police Officers nodded in his direction before leaving the break room to head to their car. Richard was about to follow them when the Detective’s voice held him back.

“Hey, Nines.” The android turned around to face his partner. Holding out his hand, he presented him the gun he had gotten earlier. “Take it. You can borrow it for now. It’s incredibly old, but it will do the job. Used the same when I was a rookie.”

“Detective?” He furrowed his brows as he looked down at the offer. “Androids usually aren’t armed during operations.”

Reed moved closer and pressed the pistol into his hands. Standing shoulder to shoulder with his partner, he looked up, tilting his head. “Then don’t make me regret my choice, tin can.”

* * *

The gun weighed light in his hands. It was an old model that had come out nearly 20 years ago, but still was used among police trainees. Black plastic between his white fingers, shiny were it had been polished by the hands of its previous owners.

“You know how to use it, right?” Richard looked up from his hands and at his partner, who came strolling towards him with a cocky grin on his face. “Just make sure to point the barrel away from you.”

“I think I know how to aim a gun, Detective. Thank you for your concern.” Sarcasm dripped from his voice and his brows sat low above his eyes as the android tucked the 17M behind the waistband of his dress pants.

“Perfect, what about hand signs?” The detective held up his fist.

“Yes, I was programmed with that as well. That means freeze.” The thumb and index finger of Reed’s hand opened to form an implied triangle. “Offender is armed with a pistol.” The hand closed into a fist again before the middle finger shot up.

“What about this one?” His mouth widened as the man smirked, making his partner sigh annoyed.

“I believe this is the internationally known sign for ‘you can put this up your ass’.”

“Good, I think you’re prepared for this mission.” There was a lightness in his words that didn’t sound as usual. The Detective was in a good mood for once.

“Hey Reed, stop fucking with your android and get your ass over here!”, the Lieutenant called from a few metres away. The rest of the raid team had gathered around the man’s old car already to discuss their actions.

“What is it, old man?”, Reed asked in a honeyed tone as they walked over. “Didn’t know you were in such a hurry.” The detective was referring to his superior arriving last at the warehouse which loomed a few hundred metres behind them. That was when Connor standing next to his partner jumped in.

“The Lieutenant and I unfortunately got stuck in tra-“

“Connor, cut it!” He regarded the younger human with a warning glare. “It’s not worth it.”

The other Officers looked uncomfortable, especially Miller and a red-haired woman from the other team couldn’t take their eyes off their shoes. Now that everyone stood close enough, Anderson opened the briefing. Although Reed was the leading Detective on this case, it was still him who held the highest rank and therefor it was his duty to talk to them. “Alright, Wilson and Brown scouted a bit, so we know the warehouse has two entrances. One on the west and one on the east side. But we still don’t know how the building looks on the inside, so I remind everyone to stay alert and be careful. They probably know the place better than we do.” From the corner of his eye Richard saw how the Detective let two fingers run over the scar on his nose. “We’ll take the west side, Reed’s team the east. Only shoot if it’s absolutely necessary, so they don’t hear us coming. We’ll surround them before the seizure. Stay in your pairs and no solo actions.” The grey-haired man looked strictly at his opposite who was supposed to coordinate the group with him. “Any additions, Reed?”

“Yeah, once we’re in, we should fan out in pairs of two. Just to make sure to cover enough space.” The Detective crossed the arms in front of his chest.

“Alright, if everything’s clear then, we can get started.”, Anderson said while drawing his gun from the holster to his side. Connor followed him on the foot after he had turned away to take the lead.

Both teams split up and walked in the directions of the entrances they had agreed on covering. Richard had his partner’s back, Riley behind him and Miller in the end. He could feel the woman’s gaze on his neck. The closer they got to the warehouse the more they ducked down into the shadows of the building. As the days became shorter and shorter, the sun was already nearing the horizon, purple and yellow light reflecting in the white metal of the Mercedes sprinter parked in front of the storehouse. The android could sense the tension of the three humans rising around him, breaths picking up and heart rates increasing. The Detective stopped every now and then to look out for possible guards, but as there were none to be seen, they continued to sneak closer and closer until they reached the grey door set into the brick walls. It seemed like the gang thought itself safe. Carefully, not to produce any noise, the man in front of him grabbed the handle and pulled the entrance open. The large metal plate swung aside, uncovering the sight on some large crates and boxes piling up.

A shot rung through air, causing the humans to flinch and freeze in place. Reed quickly rose his hand to stop everyone from moving. They harkened to where the noise had come from.

“Hey Mark, you can bring me the next ones!” The voice came from somewhere further into the warehouse, dulled by the objects separating them. With the gang being still a fair way off, the Detective stepped through the door and waved them in while hiding behind one of the boxes. Richard followed him quickly and crouched down next to his partner. The human gestured at Miller and Riley to go to the left, him and the android would take the right. The team nodded before turning around and spread out further. Taking the lead again, Reed released the gun from his holster, directing it at the ground as well as beckoning his partner to follow him. Richard could see how the human shifted his body weight to his hips like a predator stalking his prey, ready to attack. The man was experienced, movement already automated to stay undetected.

“Haha, yeah, this feels like assembly-line work! Just reversed.” Another shot rang through the air before something hit the floor. Sneaking closer while still hidden behind the boxes, Detective and android made their way to the right side of the warehouse. Rotting away in the moist air inside the supposedly abandoned building, the wooden crates were coloured a dark brown. The voices grew louder, mixed with rough laughter and occasionally interrupted by the sound of guns. His analysis showed there had to be four men along with at least two of them armed with modern hand pistols. Currently, they were about 15 metres away from them and the other two moved back and forth. There were four voices, but a lot more footsteps that disappeared every time a gun was fired, replaced by the sound of something heavy falling to the ground.

When they positioned themselves behind a set of stacked wooden cases at the end of the hall, they got a good look at the scene in the centre. Reed crouched in front of him to peek around the corner while the android watched at what was happening through a gap between two storage containers. It was like he had expected. Two armed men stood in the middle of the room, guns raised and pointing at a few androids facing towards them. Richard couldn’t see their faces from this angle, but they didn’t react, standing there stock still, just waiting for their fate. As another shot exploded from the pistols, their heads flew back and the two figures collapsed onto a pile of lifeless bodies with azure blue leaking from underneath. He didn’t know why, but somehow the sound of the corpses hitting the plastic below, made him blink away some warning messages about his thirium pump increasing its speed.

“Michael, what takes you so long? We need replenishment!” An ugly laugh accompanied the man’s voice. He was short, but muscular, light skin marked with a few scars on his arms. The moment the addressed man turned around the corner with two more androids, he grinned widely.

“Patience, gentlemen, there is enough for everyone.” It was obvious that they enjoyed this procedure.

Trying to get a good view on their faces, the RK started to scan the perpetrators. Three of them had some minor criminal records, the fourth one though didn’t. Only thing he could find out so far was that the man had been employed at a car factory before his work contract was terminated in October.

When Richard’s sensors picked up the footsteps behind him, it was already too late. The cold barrel of a gun pressed to his temple made him freeze in his motion.

_Warning, threat of destruction._

The man standing behind him forced him to stand up fully, dragging him a few steps back on his collar and away from the Detective. Instructed by his program to do so, the android raised his hands. “Don’t move, _robot._”, a craggy voice whispered next to his ear.

“We have to get closer, Nines.” Silence. “Nines?” As Reed turned his head to look why his partner wasn’t responding, the confused expression on his face quickly hardened. In the blink of an eye the Detective was standing to his full height, pistol aimed at the gang member standing behind the RK900.

“No step closer, Detective, or I will have to splatter the ground with this android’s brain.” Richard couldn’t see his hostage taker, but the voice sounded confident.

“Let him go or I will shoot you.”

“Are you sure about that?” The pressure on his temple increased. A hand on the back of his collar tightened the fabric of the shirt so that the android had to lean back a bit. “You won’t be able to strike me without hitting your partner as well. I wouldn’t make such offending statements if I were in your place.”

“What do you want.”, Reed growled. He was nervous. The muscles on his jaw tightened as he gritted his teeth together.

“I could ask you the same question, just trespassing on private property like that.”

“This warehouse was abandoned. We didn’t need a search warrant.” He tried to keep his voice low not to draw any more attention towards them.

“Still, it’s very impolite not to knock first.” Richard tried to shift his weight a bit to the side to give the Detective a clear field of fire, but the gangsters grip was iron and he moved in sync with him so he would stay covered by the android’s body. Reed’s eyes met his for a second. “So, what hideous crime is the police accusing us of?”

“Robbery, hostage taking, destruction of other’s property. Just to start with.”

“Oh come on, that sounds so harsh. We’ve just had a bit of fun with Cyberlife’s plastic puppets! It’s nothing in comparison what they’ve done to us.”

“And what would that be?” Richard could almost feel the mouth behind him curl into a smile. The man’s hot, stinky breath hit his neck and somehow he couldn’t suppress the artificial hair on his arms to stand up.

“They destroyed whole existences, _just to start with_. Robbed us of our jobs, no matter how urgently we needed them to feed our families. Detroit has always been a mess, but robots replacing us is just one step too much.” He shoved the android forward, just to pull him back harshly on his collar in the next moment. “Take a look at this fucker for example. I bet he has already tried several times to one up you. To demonstrate how much better he is than a human. Faster. Stronger. Precise aim. Not to speak of how much smarter his little processor is.” Reed didn’t answer, though his brows were set low, mouth a thin line and nostrils flaring. A quick scan showed that his blood pressure rose as well. “I bet that wasn’t exactly what you wished for in a partner. Do you really want this _thing_ to push you around for the rest of your life? That is before taking over your job completely of course.” The perpetrator stopped shortly to see how the Detective reacted. He still kept his mouth shut, yet it was even visible without a scan that the brown-haired man grew angrier from second to second. The gang member tried to find a weak point in his opponent, feeding the fire and provoking to his advantage. Richard needed to prevent that.

“I think Reed-“ The gun cocked.

“You don’t _think_, plastic, you stay quiet. I’m only talking to the Detective and you won’t interrupt us, is that clear?” The grip loosened a bit. “Excuse me, where were we? Ah right!” Scraping against his skin layer, the barrel wandered down to the curve where neck and head met, causing a dangerous prickling to roll through his sensors. “This talking puppet replacing you! I ask you, Detective, do you really want that?”

“He won’t.”, his partner pressed through his teeth.

“Oh, really? I mean, even before it came to the DPD your career was a bit – how do I phrase it – stagnated. No matter how much effort you put into your work, there was always someone snagging the promotion in front of your nose. Anderson is Fowler’s favourite, no matter how much he fucks up, he will always get the credit. Just like for this mission probably.”, the gangster stated, revealing how much they actually knew about the Detective. Reed’s eyes widened. “Yeah, Embers wasn’t lazy. He has done his research thoroughly.”

“Who is that fucker? How does he know so much about me?”

“I’ve never met him, but he sure as hell is a man with ambitions. He promised to cleanse Detroit from all androids and fools supporting them, to use the words from the news. He likes to describe himself as ‘the smouldering embers right before the outburst of the flame’. I don’t know how he gets his information, but the man has a lot to offer. You should give it a try.”

“You can shove that offer up your ass. I’m no dirty cop.”

“I’ve never questioned your loyalty, Detective. But I bet that you wish you could get rid of this plastic puppet assigned as your partner. Am I not right?” Reed remained quiet, but there was something like insecurity flashing up in his eyes. “With this at the precinct, you will never get anywhere in your career. You’ll just become obsolete. And all you’ve worked so hard for will have been for nothing.” The silence dragged on between them with the Detective having his gun still grabbed with two hands, aiming at the two figures in front of him. “Do you really want to put an emotionless machine above one of your kind? I can help you get rid of this thing. It’s so simple.” Richard saw something on his partner’s face crumble. “Just pull the trigger. Shoot the bastard and I will promise to take it upon me.”

The time crawled forward in what felt like slow motion as the Detective stared ahead, face perplexed. A few seconds later he broke the gaze through blinking and his expression hardened. Something inside the android’s stomach contorted and a warning message appeared in his field of vision. “You want me to shoot the fucker? Nothing easier than that.”

The bang of the shot echoed through the warehouse, ringing in Richard’s sensitive audio sensors. He felt how the fabric and skin layer covering his arm were torn away the moment the bullet grazed his triceps.

“Fuuuck!” The term came out together with a pain filled grunt of the perpetrator’s mouth as his shoulder was pierced. He had made the mistake to lean to the side too much, leaving the cover the android had provided while he got unwary by his own talking.

“Nines, now!”

Richard felt how the gangster’s composure and attention loosened, offering him an opportunity to free himself from the grip on his collar. He kicked back his elbow to the side to connect it with the man’s nose, drawing an ugly cracking noise from the bone as it broke together with a pained cry. Abruptly he turned around, frame towering over the man who ducked away before him with blood streaming through the fingers that were pressed in front of his mouth and nose. The moment he saw the android’s expression, his eyes grew big and he tried to raise his gun. Richard was faster. He pushed the wrist to the side and away from his body while keeping in mind on which side Reed was standing, so his partner wouldn’t get hit. As the shot unfastened the RK was already out of the field of fire. With his other hand he bent the man’s wrist to himself, making the pistol face him, and dug his fingers into the flesh of the thumb. Instinctively the gangster’s grip loosened so that Richard could grab the gun and slam its butt against the parchment white face, pale but marked with old lines and stains. As he was knocked out, his body dropped to the ground unconsciously.

Somewhere behind the crates, shouts and gunfire erupted through the building. The Detective’s shot must have alarmed the rest of the gang members, forcing the remaining police team to start the raid.

“Shit! We have to get over there and help them!”, Reed yelled over the noise, already turning around to rush past the boxes and towards the turmoil. Richard followed him on the foot.

The centre of the warehouse was a mess, bullets flying everywhere, voices yelling commands all over each other. Taking cover behind some cases, the perpetrators shot at the Officers cornering them. They were outnumbered, yet that didn’t stop them from fighting back. Android and Detective closed the circle around them, but they didn’t notice the two men as they emerged from the stocks behind their backs. Reed signalised Richard to take one of them before he raised his gun at the men.

“Detroit Police, drop your guns immediately!” The gunfire stopped as the four turned around surprised at the two partners behind them. One of them tried to lift his pistol at the Detective, but he was faster and kicked it out of the gangster’s hand. When the weapon skidded over the floor, Reed forced the man down with one knee on his back. “Stay the fuck down!”

Richard disarmed the man closest to him as he pressed him to the ground in one swift move. The two remaining criminals were so startled by the attack from behind that they only now came back to life, cursing at the sight of the remaining Officers coming in their direction.

“Fuck!” Panic accompanied the pale man’s voice and he instinctively raised his weapon at the Lieutenant who was closest to them. Anderson’s eyes widened as he saw the barrel of the gun pointing towards him, the gangster’s finger lying on the trigger.

The RK900 assessed the situation in a split second, then his hands already drew the weapon tugged behind his waistband and directed it at the hairline cross set on the man’s calf by his system before shooting. A cry of pain escaped the gangster’s mouth as he let his own gun clatter to the ground to wrap both his hands around the bleeding wound the bullet had eaten into his flesh. His partner next to him stared at the howling man with big eyes, face frozen in a shocked expression. With the other Officers having almost reached their temporary barricade, fear overran the gang member, stress level peaking at its maximum. Stampeding, he made a run in the opposite direction and away from the police in a desperate attempt to flee the situation.

“Shit, Nines, he’s trying to escape! Chris, take over!” With that Detective Reed jumped to his feet to chase after the man, shortly before Officer Miller made it to him. Richard lifted his weight off the man he was holding on the ground the moment Connor had reached his position, relieving his successor from his duty to arrest the gangster. The android quickly rushed after his partner that had some advance on him by now, yet he was fast enough to catch up rapidly. Like a hare the perpetrator ran in zig-zag lines through the labyrinth of crates, diving deeper into it to shake off his two hunters. It was no use though and they came closer from second to second.

Right as the android turned the corner, he had seen the gang member and Reed’s figure disappear behind, he was hit by a sudden impact against his chest that knocked him off his feet. Blinking up confused at what hit him, Richard saw a metal rod rushing down at his head and he managed to roll to his side just in time before it smashed on the ground where he had laid just a second ago. Before the attacker could lunge out a second time, the RK was already upright again, arms raised and combat system activated. He stood back to back with the Detective who had been surprised by an attack as well. His pistol had been kicked out of his hands, leaving him to his fists to defend himself. They were surrounded by three men, the one they had chased and two others armed with sharp-edged pipes. So there had been more than five men involved in the heist.

“Why so quiet all of a sudden? Not that confident anymore now that it’s two against three?” The grin on the man’s face widened as the three gangsters circled around them.

“Pretty big mouth for someone that just bolted and left his pals behind.”, Reed answered in a calm tone. Richard felt how he steadied himself behind the android’s back, muscles tensing. His shirt had been ripped on one sleeve and the slit coloured red on the edges from the Detective’s blood where his arm had been cut slightly by the metal.

“We will finish you.”

“Big mistake.” His voice was settled. Richard saw something flash up in the periphery of his field of vision, quickly identifying the object as one of the pipes the gang member lunged at his partner. “Nines!”

The impact weapon was stopped abruptly mid-air, metal hitting the android’s palm with a dull sound. Ducking down, the Detective had avoided the blow to the head, but now he used his offender’s surprise to jump forward and let his fist collide with the gangster’s chin, causing his head to fly back. As the grip around the rod loosened, Richard got the chance to take it into his possession and swung it around just in time to block the second guy’s attack. With a few swift moves he had the man unarmed and drew a thin line of red onto his cheek with the sharp end of the weapon. While the perpetrator was distracted, he devoted himself fully on the man that had fled earlier. Before the gang member knew what was happening, he already laid face down on the floor, knocked out by some skilfully applied hits to the stomach and temple.

“You plastic fucker!” The android quickly spun around, readying himself for the other guy to jump at him, though before the angrily glaring man could do so, he was hit by his own companion that caused both men to tumble to the ground. Reed had kicked the third assailant in the solar plexus with enough force to make the two remaining offenders crash into each other.

“You are arrested and have the right to remain silent!” The Detective had reacquired his gun and pointed it at the two perpetrators on the floor, the one he had hit gasping like a fish on dry land from the blow to the stomach. In that moment Anderson, Connor and the young Officer from their team came running around the corner, weapons ready to intervene in the fight that had already been ended. They stopped and visibly relaxed a little at the sight of all three aggressors defeated.

“Everything okay here?”

“Yeah.”, Reed responded to his superior’s question. “I think the three gentlemen are ready to surrender now.”

The Lieutenant was panting heavily while supporting himself on his own thighs with his hands. “Fuck, I’m getting too old for this shit.”

Connor, who had been silent until now, started to handcuff one of the men on the ground. “The others are watching the remaining perpetrators, but we should head back to them as soon as possible.”

“Take your filthy plastic hands off of me, you puppet!”, the man snarled as he struggled against the android, despite him being way stronger than a human. The tiger tattoo on his calf was smeared with dirt from the ground.

“Not your lucky day. Connor will arrest you if you want or not.” Anderson’s low voice had a warning undertone to it. He turned towards the RK900 standing a few metres away from him. “Thanks for- uh -earlier by the way, Richard. You did … pretty good today.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.”, the android answered.

The three assailants were quickly handcuffed and brought back to the centre of the warehouse, although it took some time to lift the unconscious man up.

“Where did these two even come from?” Reed shook his head at the two swearing gang members.

“I believe my captor from earlier informed them.”

“Shit, I totally forgot about him! Let’s hope he didn’t wake up.” The Detective rushed off while giving Officer Miller a sign with his hand. “Chris, help me over here.”

Both men walked towards the boxes the knocked-out body was laying behind. Richard could make out a consistent heartbeat from that spot, so it seemed like the guy was still there. His attention was caught by something else the moment after though, seeing the red-haired Officer from earlier and Connor talk to a few androids at the back of the hall. They ordered them to stand in a line, preparing to walk out of the old warehouse and leaving the pile of bodies behind. At least a few of them hadn’t been destroyed.

It didn’t take long until Miller and Reed returned together with the pale man that had threatened the android some minutes ago. He was still not fully conscious, yet it seemed like he slowly woke up from the involuntary sleep he had been put to. While the young policeman half guided, half dragged him outside the warehouse, Richard’s partner walked over towards the RK.

“You gonna be fine?”, the human asked, pointing at the blue bleeding wound at his upper arm. Looking down, he only now remembered the spot where the bullet had ripped away some of his skin layer.

“Yes, it’s just graze shot.”

“How could that fucker even surprise you? I thought you are the most advanced model there is?” One of Reed’s eyebrow lifted.

“I was occupied with scanning the gang member’s faces so I didn’t hear him approach. You’re right though. I shouldn’t have been so distracted.”

“Huh.” The Detective mumbled. “At least we managed to make him think he had me hooked.”

“We? I have to say that you are quite a good liar, Detective. You had both of us convinced.”

Turning his head surprised, the human looked at his partner’s face. “Didn’t you see me wink?”

Now it was Richard’s turn to raise his eyebrows. “That was supposed to be a wink?”

“Phck you, tin can. Not you as well.”, the Detective groaned through gritted teeth. “Whatever. We didn’t do that bad as a team today.” With a slap on the android’s back, he turned away to follow his colleagues out of the old, crumbling warehouse. His partner’s eyes followed him until the silhouette was swallowed by the long shadows stretching in front of the building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading as always! If you're bored at the moment and want to read something in between updates, I could offer you an one shot I wrote for an artwork the past week. It's called [Just another job](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24023911).  
Thank you so so much for almost 200 kudos!! <3 <3 <3 This means the world to me and really brightens my day at the moment!  
See you in chapter 11, my loves!


	11. Software Instability

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, welcome back for chapter 11! Over one week too late, *caugh*, but an extra long one for that. Please excuse me. ^^ Thank you so so much for 235 kudos and over 3600 hits! Oh my god, I'm squeaking! This really means so much to me! Thank you for everyone that stopped by, I am still speechless that the story already has so many people reading, like over 100 subs, I don't know how to thank you!  
Have some slight team work, protecting and embarrassed Gavin.:3 Next update will be one I am looking forward to.  
I hope you enjoy the update as I totally ditched Uni for finishing this ^^. 
> 
> Disclaimers: -threatened violence  
-Degradation  
-Bad parents

Gavin tapped his fingers on the counter in the rhythm of the melody that was stuck in his head since this morning. The coffee machine gargled and bubbled out some noises as it prepared the hot beverage slowly streaming into his cup, steaming and dark. It had the same colour as that plastic prick’s hair.

He quickly snatched the cup from the holder the moment it was ready to pour a tiny bit of milk into it. The colour changed from almost black to a lighter carob brown, swirls of white interrupting the surface. Faintly humming his ear worm, he sauntered out of the break room and over towards the bullpen while taking small sips from his drink. It was early noon and most of the Officers were busy with paperwork or research, but he had already finished a fair amount of work. Next thing, after a short coffee break, would be to interrogate those fuckers they had arrested a few days ago and he was looking forward to squeeze every little detail about the Tides out of the criminals. This would be a good day.

The Detective leaned against one of the bar tables with one arm and started to flip through the pages of the magazine lying in front of him, headline causing his lips to curl up into a small smile. ‘Seven members of _The Tides_ arrested!’

“You seem in a good mood for a Monday, Detective. Was your date a success last week?”

Gavin looked up from the electronic magazine at his partner’s voice. The android stood across the table, hands rested behind his back and head slightly tilted.

“Nah, I’m just glad we made the catch and got those fuckers locked up.” He was about to look back down again when he fully realised Nines’ question. “Wait. Have you been eavesdropping on me and Tina?”

“I wouldn’t call it eavesdropping when it’s loud enough my sensors can pick it up from across the room.” He didn’t exactly smile, but something amusing and teasing flashed up in his blue eyes.

“Phck you, tin can.”, Gavin grumbled into his coffee, though without much bite in his voice. Internally cursing Tina, he shot her a look to where she was sitting on her desk a few metres away, happily waving at him as she noticed.

“So? Was the date to your satisfaction or not?” The human almost choked on his beverage as it went down the wrong tube. Judging by the fucker’s expression, the choice of words had been intentional.

“What’s it to you, toaster? Why are you interested in my private life all of a sudden?!”

“Oh, it’s just practical to know what kind of mood of yours I have to prepare for today, Detective. Your reaction implies it didn’t go as planned?”

Gavin sighed annoyed. “Nothing gets past you, does it, smart ass.”, he murmured defeated at the memory of last Friday night. He still hadn’t responded to Henry’s messages on his phone and didn’t really plan on doing so. Being reminded of them made him uncomfortable, sitting in the back of his mind like a chore he had been procrastinating. “Not as planned, or better not at all.” One of those dark eyebrows shot up on the android’s face. “I- kind of forgot the time. I mean, we just had arrested a bunch of gang members! Interrogating them was obviously way more important at that moment.” Gavin shrugged before taking another sip.

“Of course, that had priority. Especially after three hours of not getting anywhere with it.” The ribbing undertone was unmistakeable as the robot tilted his head again.

This conversation started to threaten his good mood, but he wasn’t going to let anything pull him down today. Not as he was about to lock up the fuckers that had tortured and killed multiple people by now. So he decided not to jump onto that otherwise perfect opportunity to start another fight and just flipped Nines off with a warning glare from behind his mug. He hadn’t even wanted a date to begin with so why did he even care to explain. Besides, Gavin wasn’t exactly good at shit like that, small-talk or texting or getting to know someone better than just what’s below the waistband of their underwear. He hadn’t anything interesting to offer either as he was only working, at home or sometimes at the gym and mostly he wasn’t even allowed to talk about his cases. The one thing he was mourning about missing his date was the opportunity to get laid after what must have been months of no skin contact, because his last case had taken all his attention and now he was burying himself into the next.

Tina was hearable behind him, slowly approaching the bar table they were standing around with small prominent footsteps that were typical for her.

“Detective, as I caught you in a rather good disposition, I wanted to talk about the missing deviant.” Shit, Nines must have noticed at least something as he wouldn’t let that topic rest. This was the worst fucking moment with the whole precinct around them and Tina almost at their table. “I was wondering if-“

“You’re really set on destroying my mood constantly, aren’t you, tin can?! I told you, I don’t want to talk about that, I have better things to do!”, he cut off the android before he could spill anything more. The warning glare he added didn’t seem to work though.

“It is highly important to discuss this issue as we-“

“Hey Tina! Wanna see a cool trick?” His friend gave him a questioning look as she came to a halt next to him. “RK900, freeze.” The android immediately became silent and froze in place. His expression slowly pulled away as his face went back into its basic position, serious, but empty, arms rested at his body’s sides. It left a weird feeling in Gavin’s guts. “Okay, now be a good little robot and wait for me at the interrogation room.”

Nines nodded before turning around and retreating from the table to walk away as he was told. He didn’t know how it worked exactly, but Gavin was sure the android had to obey to human commands as long as no other major objectives were activated, like he had told a few days ago himself. And as the Detective was the person responsible for him at the DPD, he had figured the RK must do as he told in most occasions. Just like when he made Nines shut up in the car after paying the Cyberlife store a visit.

“Wow, that was creepy.” Tina’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “Thought you started to get along a bit after last week.”

Gavin snorted at that. “Toaster and me getting along? You wish. He just loves to ruin my day too much for that to be happening.”

“Well, you aren’t exactly brightening his either.” She eyed him closely from the side as Gavin abruptly turned his head.

“Tina, it’s not like I’m hurting his feelings! He’s a god damn android without emotion! And he loves to remind me of that every two minutes.” Grumbling, he raised his cup to his lips to empty it in one swift motion. “Cyberlife really fucked up with this one. He’s even more unbearable than Connor.”

“Sure.” Gavin’s friend didn’t sound convinced the slightest, but she didn’t press it and Gavin was glad she dropped the topic. “So. How was Friday?”

The grin on her face widened as she leaned forward. He instantly wished he could talk about his tin can of a partner again, just to escape the lecture he was about to get. “Uhh, didn’t really go.”

“Gavin! Don’t tell me you ditched him!!”, she angrily whispered while Gavin moved away a bit.

“Was busy with work. And my shirt ripped.”

“God dammit, Gav, you’re always busy with work! For once you could have let someone else do it and enjoy an actual date and weekend!” Her friend shrugged, making the old blue-grey sweater he was wearing rustle. The dress shirt had been enough of an embarrassment for a whole year. “Sometimes I really think you _are_ married to your job.”

Tina shook her head as the man started to walk backwards away from her and towards the interrogation room. “I’m sorry, T.”

“You better tell _him _that!”, she called after him.

Nines was already waiting in front of the rooms, arms crossed and face neutral, although Gavin could have sworn, he saw something furious glint in those icy eyes. The cold look caused a chill to run down his back and he didn’t feel proud over forcing his will onto the android, but he couldn’t let anyone know about the deviant he had covered. For the Chapman’s and his own career’s sake.

“Let’s see if they are willing to talk now.” After not getting anywhere with the interrogation the day they had arrested the perpetrators, they had decided to leave them to stew in investigative custody over the weekend with nothing around them than those white walls of the DPD’s cells.

Nines was about to open the door of the control room, when Gavin pulled himself together. “Where are you going, tin can?”

“To the control room?” One of the brows shot up again, though this time the eyes below were a lot colder than before.

“Could use your stoic intimidating presence behind me, maybe that will motivate them to talk.” Gavin tried to force a small smile on his face. The android didn’t smile back.

“If you wish so, Detective.” With that the tall RK passed his partner to enter the interrogation room. Was he pissed? He couldn’t be, he was only a machine. And his facial expression was as neutral and unmoved as ever. Still, an uneasy feeling spread inside of Gavin’s chest again.

The gang member inside smirked at them as they entered the interrogation room. It was the one that had tried to manipulate Gavin into shooting Nines, hitting exactly where it hurt. The Detective narrowed his eyes. He recalled the furry the man had inflicted on him only too well, to the point it he was raging over all the unfairness in his life. His work not being appreciated, this plastic partner being forced on him without asking, Anderson always getting favoured. It would have felt good to just pull the trigger and blame all of that onto the android. But deep down Gavin knew it wasn’t his fault that his life was such a shit show.

“Jacob Collins.”, he said at the man’s sight while sitting down on the opposite side of the table.

“Detective Gavin Reed and his plastic pet. What a pleasure to talk to you again.” The light brown eyes of the perpetrator emanated something complacent. Gavin could hear how Nines leaned against the wall behind him with a shift of his weight and white jacket brushing against the concrete. Ignoring the gangster’s comment, he opened the file and spread the pictures of Wood and Jackson on the metal surface.

“You and the rest of your group killed these people. Why?”

“Oh, heading right in with the questions, are we?”

Gavin clenched his teeth. “I’m not in the mood for games, Collins. Why are the Tides after android friendly people?”

“Detective, I expected more of you. Why are you asking questions you already know the answer to?”

“Because this isn’t some lazy interview, it’s an interrogation. Answer the question.” Gavin didn’t let the other man out of his sight as he leaned back.

“They betrayed their own kind and therefore they deserved to die.”

“So you confess that you killed them?” The pale man tilted his head. The gunshot wound Gavin had left on his shoulder had been patched up with some bandages by a doctor.

“Why deny something that is obvious. I bet you and Mr. stonecold over there already have a collection of proof for that theory. It wouldn’t change a thing. While Cyberlife is simply stealing our jobs, those idiots helped deviants. Machines that think they are alive. Next, they will claim equal rights and shit, you will see. We’re just cleansing Detroit from that scum, Embers will make sure of that. And it won’t do anything that you arrested us.”

“Who is we? The Tides? How many members does the gang have?”

Collins laughed. “The Tides have numerous members; I don’t know how many, only that the number grows from day to day. People are tired of the government’s and Cyberlife’s corrupt bullshit. And before you ask, no, I don’t know any names except the ones I worked with. We get our orders via typed letters we burn after. Embers isn’t dumb, he won’t share important information with henchmen.”

“What about that Embers. The leader. You seam to admire him, so what do you know? How did he get so much information about the Detective?”, Nines asked from behind Gavin.

“Like I already told you in the warehouse, I never met him. We were just little cogs in the big wheel. So when we were told to destroy those androids, we did.”

“And why did you only shoot them, when you could have killed them like Wood’s android?” Gavin took over again.

The criminal chuckled. “Those were just empty shells, machines like your partner. We just had to dispose them. Wood’s android on the other hand needed a lesson. He thought he was equal to us humans, thought he felt emotion and sensations.” Laughing low, he shook his head. “Idiot even begged for his _life_. Deviants are so full of themselves. Think they can claim human rights and replace us even as living beings! So, if they are convinced, they have feelings, should they notice what that means.” The dangerous glow in his eyes radiated glee.

“Just like the traitors protecting those defective machines. Everyone that supports these figments, shall burn at their side. They are no better than the plastic fuckers and deserve to suffer for that betrayal on the human race. It was so satisfying to hear that bitch that hid the deviant scream once we burned her skin away.”

Gavin’s fists clenched under the table. “You are murderers, nothing more. You are doing Detroit no favour as you like to think.”

“Well, you did half our job back there. When we arrived, we were sure there would be a deviant to get rid of, but you two already took it with you. So I wouldn’t talk that big if I were you. You basically cooperated with us there.”

The Detective was about to yell something back, hands clutching the edge of the table now, when Nines stepped forward and interrupted him. “Detective, I think we are done here. He confessed, there is no use in listening to his motivations anymore.”

For once, Gavin was glad the android had stepped in or he wasn’t sure what he would have said or done next.

“Yeah, let this puppet order you around, Detective. Do as the machine says.” The dirty grin on the perp’s face widened at the sight of Gavin’s lip curling back in an angry grimace. “You will never get anywhere with this thing at the DPD. There will always be someone snatching that promotion in front of your face and no matter how much work you put into your job, it will surpass you.” Echoing from the interrogation room’s walls, the voice rang in his ears as Nines pushed him outside. The moment the door closed behind them, his mind slowly started to clear up from the rage, making him want to go back and punch that smug expression off the gang member’s face.

“Detective, you have to calm down. He’s just provoking you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know tin can.” Frustrated he let the back of his head rest against the wall. It almost bugged him more than the actual words that the asshole knew how to get under his skin. “Do we have enough evidence to lock them up?”

The android nodded. “Yes. The courier boy recognised one of the perpetrator’s tiger tattoo and the blood of another matches the sample we found at Andrea Jackson’s house. They will all spend many years in prison.”

“Good.” Despite Gavin being glad he had detained Wood’s and Jackson’s murderers, his good mood was completely gone by now. All they had managed to catch were some little stooges that knew shit about the Tide’s organisation or higher positioned members. Yes, Collins had tried to set the Detective off in there, but Gavin didn’t doubt he was telling the truth otherwise. This gang was no little street gang anymore, the level of organisation and planning was too high for that. Embers was smart enough not to act out anything on his own and stayed in the shadows while smaller criminals did the dirty work for him. Gavin would have bet his tongue that this was one of these slimy guys that were excellent with their words, but shit with their hands. Looking at the amount of people he had recruited, although they didn’t even know how large that number actually was, he had to be a god damn rhetorician.

“Gavin, the Captain wants to see you.” When the Detective looked up from his brooding, he was met with Chris’ brown eyes, nervously flicking between him and Nines. “And Richard as well.” How could this man still be so tense every time Gavin was called into the office of their boss? Maybe because he was a fresh father and his nerves were strained at the moment. Maybe it was the screaming matches that somehow always seemed to erupt once the Detective had entered the fish bowl, the unofficial nickname Fowler’s office had earned over the last years.

“Sure.”, he dragged the word before pushing himself off the wall to walk towards the large transparent cube. “You coming, Nines? You heard him, Fowler wants to talk to both of us.”

The tall android didn’t let him out of the sight as he sauntered backwards away from him, eyebrows set low like always when he was processing something. Spinning around again, Gavin turned the corner and stepped up the small stairs to the Captain’s office. His own gut feeling wasn’t good either, but he tried to swallow that as he entered.

The dark-skinned man raised his head at the sound of two people entering. “Reed, Richard, take a seat.”

His jugular vein wasn’t visibly pulsating, that was a good sign. Gavin let himself fall onto the chair in front of him while his partner settled down gracefully like a cat, long legs neatly aligned. His posture was the exact opposite of the human’s who had one arm dangling loose over the backrest of the chair and one of his ankles rested on his knees in a very relaxed way.

“You wanted to talk to us?”

“Yes.” The Captain let his eyes wander over the two figures in front of him, one the perfect image of strength and rectilinearity, the other a mess of limbs emitting casualness. He couldn’t believe that this was his best Detective team, but those two contrasts had closed a month-long ongoing investigation and arrested seven members of the new gang terrorising Detroit in just the first week they had worked together. “You won’t like it though.”

One of Gavin’s eyebrows cocked. “Wow. That starts great. Spit it out, Fowler. What is it?”

“From now on, you two are taking all deviant cases Anderson and Connor can’t dispatch.”

“What?!” That must have been be a fucking joke. The Detective leaned forward, now tensed. “Are you kidding me?! We are working on the biggest case of murder we had in a long time with an _organised gang_ establishing itself in the city as we speak, and you want to assign us to some grannies whose tin cans fucked off because they were tired off baking cherry pie?!”, Gavin almost yelled, his voice rising with every word. His Captain was used to the hot-headed behaviour already though and wasn’t moving a single muscle as he glared at his inferior.

“And the Tides’ case is what you will be mainly working on! So sit back and let me talk, Reed!!” Fowler’s voice thundered through the small room to silence the Detective. When he collected himself a bit, the bald man continued. “The DPD is flooded with android cases right now and not the harmless ones anymore. This gets too much for just two investigators, so I need the two of you to work on some side-cases every now and then.” He looked between human and android. “Something is happening out there and no one has an idea what exactly, but it scares people. They are chased into the Tides’ arms if this continues, there are already countless graffities appearing all over the city. Way more than just a small group of people could produce.”

“The humans fear deviants. They join or support the Tides to get rid of this threat.” Nines concluded.

“Yes, that’s why we need to fight both or soon there will be riots in the streets.” Fowler turned his head to Gavin again. “The administration is lighting a fire under my ass to get this fixed. They told me they want my best team on this as soon as possible. You see, I don’t really have a choice in this either. I expect you to find out who is behind all this mess and deal with the deviants before they tear down this city, you understand me Reed?” There was a tone in his voice that didn’t allow any backtalk. The voice of a commander.

Gavin wrinkled his nose, lips curling back a little in an almost snarl, but he swallowed the angry comment he wanted to release at his boss’s warning glare.

“Fine.”, he growled under his breath. He couldn’t believe he was supposed to run after those plastic idiots like Anderson and metal ass number eight, wasting his time when he could investigate the Tides-case and catch a maniac killing people.

“Good. For today you only have something easy. A woman complained about her android misbehaving and wanted a police team to check it, just in case.” Fowler laid down a folder in front of Gavin’s nose. “That’s the report. Check it out, then you’re dismissed for today. I know your- time off is soon as well.”

The Detective knew that it was a peace offering to let him go early, but he didn’t give a shit about Fowler’s weak apology at the moment. This was such bullshit, a total waste off his abilities. Just as always.

Grabbing the file, he rose from his chair and turned on his heels to rush out of the office without another word. If his ears could steam, they would right now. His good day really had been ruined now; this shit just was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“Detective Reed?”

“What, tin can?!” He angrily turned his head to the plastic prick. The android almost looked concerned, if you could call the barely lifting of his brows an actual expression.

“Don’t you want to take a look at the report? There could be relevant information that-“

“You heard Fowler, a woman complained about her fucking Roomba not doing as she says, so no need for that! I bet you have everything perfectly scanned in your head anyway!” With that Gavin spun around again, threw the file on his desk and rushed off towards the exit. He wanted this stupid day to be over so he could finally have his time off. Normally, he would bury himself in work now, but what to do when work itself pissed him off that much?

He heard Nines follow behind him and the Detective was glad he kept his mouth shut, otherwise he knew he would only jump at every word coming out of the android’s mouth. When the door of the car fell shut with a loud thud, the engine was already roaring.

* * *

“Fancy address. Must cost a fortune to rent something so close to the city centre.”, Gavin mumbled as they left the police car behind them, parked on the side of the road. The place was buzzing with people, hurrying through the streets or just chatting on the square. Despite the well-kept environment and some trendy statues, the space was surrounded by big old buildings that had probably been used as factory halls once. The district was known for its weird style and people seemed to pay a lot as long as rust and overgrown bricks were called artsy or ‘brutalist style’. Gavin had to admit, it had a strange charm, though at the same time he felt a little intimidated by the tall, warehouse-like buildings. Small dark alleys carved a network of paths between the looming blocks of concrete. Fancy neighbourhood, but you wouldn’t want to face shady people in those alleys.

“Mrs. Bennet lives on the third floor, house number 29.” Gavin nodded and made his way over the square towards said building. He knew Nines had thrown him a bone there. Because the Detective hadn’t read the report, he had no idea what the woman was called they were about to question. Still being pissed though, he only grumbled his ‘thanks’.

When they were halfway over the square, Gavin noticed a group of men and women whispering in secret and eying them in the corner of his vision. The small crowd opened and came in their direction.

“Ey, plastic waste! Fuck off!! We don’t want you here!” Before Gavin could turn around fully, they had already surrounded his partner that watched the group with an unreadable face. “Didn’t you hear us?! Leave this district or you will feel my fist!”

People started to turn their heads to look what was going on, but hurried on as soon as they saw the android surrounded by humans. The RK was way taller than most of them, towering over their heads, yet they didn’t seem to be impressed the slightest.

“Excuse me, I’m here on duty.”

“Oh, it is on duty, did you hear that?!” The guy talking wore his hair in a man bun, had a full beard and some tattoos that barely showed over the rim of his jacket. Gavin tried to push through the group of people, but they didn’t pay any attention to him. “I said, fuck off, you plastic puppet!”

With that the bearded man shoved Nines away from him, causing the android to fall to the ground.

“Eyy! Stop that!”, the Detective shouted which caused the crowd to open a little so he could finally get past. Positioning himself between the man and his partner, he drew all attention on himself.

“And who would you be?” The question dripped of disdain, eyes glaring, yet Gavin held the man’s stare. He could sense how the small crowd around them tensed, just waiting for a sign to act out their hate. They were thirsting for any kind of quarrel, readable in their faces and clenching fists.

“In your place I would leave him alone. He’s here with me and if you don’t want to be charged for obstruction of justice, I would let us pass.” Gavin held his voice low not be heard by too many, though the warning undertone in his voice and eyes were obvious.

“Uh-huh, I see. Looks like we caught ourselves a cop and his plastic pet here.” The bearded guy stepped forward into Gavin’s personal space. “The pigs that arrested members of the Tides.”

_Shit, this is bad_. Counting about 5 other people surrounding them, the Detective’s hand twitched. If they should decide to assault them, he would probably need to draw his gun, but despite the threatening words, he doubted that they would go through with it in the middle of a square with so many eyes on them. Although his heartbeat picked up rapidly, every cell in his body screaming to spring into action, Gavin didn’t move. Still, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

“Yes, exactly, the pigs that arrested those murderers. And if you call me that one more time, I will arrest you as well for insulting an official, right here and now.”

“They aren’t murderers, they make room for humans again whose jobs have been stolen! They give us a chance to regain our rights, something the government and the police is failing to do!” The answer was almost snarled, but loud enough that the bystanders could hear him. His eyes flicked back to Nines, who was still lying on the ground, watching the scene closely, yet didn’t dare to move in case that would provoke the crowd. “I’m sorry for the insult, Detective.”, the man continued in a honeyed voice and a filthy smile made its way on his face. He went past Gavin, who didn’t let him out of his sight. “But _this_ _thing_ isn’t a cop. It’s not even human. And we don’t want it here.”

With these words he nudged the android’s side with the tip of his shoe and though it wasn’t a real kick, Nines growled as he moved away. When he tried to get up on his feet, the group leader held him down with his heel pressing down the RK’s shoulder. That was enough for Gavin. He stepped between them once more while kicking away the offender’s leg in the process.

“Listen here, you asshole. I am the one that has to work with this android, so I will be the only one kicking his butt, do you understand me? If anyone touches him, I could seriously lose my temper with all of you.” He knew it was more of an empty threat as they were outnumbered, but he wasn’t willing to back down to that jackass, his big mouth taking control once again before he could decide against it.

“Sweet. You even think it’s a _he_. Wouldn’t want to stand in the way of such a strong bond.”, the man snarled with an ugly grin, before lowering his head so mainly Gavin could hear him, whispering in a low voice. “But we don’t like android loving cops in this district, so if we should ever see you two around here again, this could not end so friendly.”

And just like that he turned around and waved off his group to follow him.

When Gavin looked back, Nines was already standing on his feet, brushing off the dust from his jacket.

“You okay, tin can?”

“Yes, thank you Detective. My de-escalation protocols wouldn’t have worked anymore, they were too enraged already.”

“Hmph.” Gavin turned his head to look after the small group of people walking away from them. “I wonder why they were that aggressive.”

“Like Fowler said, people are afraid of the unstable situation at the moment. And fear fuels humans more than anything.”

The Detective snorted before tearing his eyes away from the little crowd. “So you’re an expert on that now, smartass?”

“It’s just the knowledge a _human_ programmed me with.”, Nines answered calmly as he smoothed out the wrinkles in his jacket and pushed back the strand of hair which had fallen into his forehead again. “The city is tensed. Fear of deviants, the anger about androids replacing humans in some positions and now the controversy about the Tides along with the arrest of some of its members stir the already established emotions. We should be careful.”

Gavin replied with a grunt while he started moving towards the building they had been heading to earlier. He didn’t like to admit it, but the toaster was right. Fear really was the strongest and most dangerous power chasing people into the arms of organisations like the Tides.

“Should I open a charge for threatening an Officer?”

“No, that would only fire up their hatred. Let them go.”

When Gavin looked to the side, he noticed a blue wave sprayed on one of the brick walls. It wasn’t the clean and precise motive the gang was using at the crime scenes, nor had it words written under it, but the message was clear and caused a chill to run down Gavin’s arms, making the hairs stand up from his skin. People started to support the Tides’ actions, expressing that in spreading their own versions of the gang’s sign across Detroit, just like Fowler had told them. To see it in person though, made the fact become real and it reminded Gavin of the crime scene at Jackson’s house. Those fools had no idea what they were supporting there.

“Detective, everything alright?” Nines’ voice brought him back into reality.

“Uh, yes.” The Detective cleared his throat and picked up his pace to reach the building they were looking for. It was one of those old industrial styled complexes with large windows and ivy climbing the brick walls. When his eyes caught the name Bennet on the doorbell nameplate, he quickly pressed the button. Gavin really wanted to get this over with.

“Hello?”, a voice fluted from the speaker.

“Mrs. Bennet? My name is Detective Reed. You called the DPD because of a problem with your android?”

“Oh, yes! Come in Detective! It’s the top floor.”

The door buzzed, signalising that they could enter. Gavin already had an image of Mrs. Bennet stuck in his head: probably a middle-aged white woman with bleach blonde hair pinned up with a clip. The moment they reached the highest of three floors and the door swung open, his mental picture was confirmed. She was a tall, elegant woman in her early fifties, although the skilfully applied make-up managed to make her look a few years younger. The woman was in good shape, slim body accentuated by a tight pencil skirt and a white business blouse. Her hair, admittedly not bleached but rather a sandy shade, was in fact held up by a silvery hair clip.

“Oh, it’s good that you are here, Detective, I really didn’t know what to do anymore! The only thing I could think of was to lock him into his room, god, I was so scared! Oh, is this your assistant?” Mrs. Bennet chattered away as Gavin and Nines entered her apartment. The living room had an incredibly high ceiling and giant windows that flooded the industrial styled flat with light.

“Yeah, that’s Richard.”, Gavin mumbled while looking around fascinated in the fancy furnished room.

“Nice to meet you madam.” The android politely held out his hand, but their client hesitated.

“He isn’t deviant, is he?” That made the Detective turn around, though Nines was faster to answer.

“Of course not, Mrs. Bennet. I am regularly checking my program to prevent any instabilities from occurring.” Relieved, she took the RK900’s hand and shook it before closing the door behind them.

“You must excuse, I am just really on edge after Oliver. It was so scary how he fought against me.”

Gavin’s eyebrows tightened almost unnoticeably, but his partner noticed and threw him a look. The woman was in good shape, yes, but her arms were thin and probably not very strong. How she had managed to lock the misbehaving android in a room with it struggling against her, he didn’t know. “Can you show us where he is? And tell us more about what happened.”

“Yes, he is over there.” Mrs. Bennet pointed towards a closed door, the key inserted into the lock from outside. Gavin moved closer, but he couldn’t hear much, partly because the woman was cackling again. “So, I was working on my laptop when he came in and said he wanted to go outside, but I told him he isn’t allowed and my husband, you know, he can be very strict and sometimes he will discipline Oliver, then it’s all tears and anger so I obviously wanted to prevent that, but then-“

“Mrs. Bennet!” Gavin interrupted her harshly, which made her shut up. Nines jumped in before she could get offended.

“Please excuse my partner, sometimes he isn’t as eloquent in expressing himself. At the moment, we need silence to prepare and we will question you afterwards. Could you step aside, just in case and for your own safety?”

“Y-yes.” The startled woman stuttered and moved back a little, fortunately also staying quiet now.

A bad feeling had settled in Gavin’s stomach at his suspicion. He carefully unlocked the door and opened it ajar. The small huddled figure inside confirmed his assumption the second time this day and he cursed himself internally for not reading the report.

_Fuck, it’s a child._ _Why does it have to be a child?_

The maybe seven-year-old looking boy inside lifted his head out of his arms at the sound of the key, tear stains glistening on his round cheeks. He didn’t have an LED, but his features were so perfect, there was no doubt he was an android.

“I saw on the news what those deviants can do, I’m not willing to tolerate one in my own house!” Gavin took at a breath as the woman started to babble again. “I won’t put myself and my husband at risk! Detective, you have to make sure there is nothing wrong with his program, otherwise I’m sending him back!”

Said Detective sighed. “So, he went outside although he wasn’t allowed to, did I get that right?”

“Yes, exactly. That may not sound like much now, but just imagine what could come out of that! Horrible!” Her voice started to become hysterical, causing the boy inside his room to flinch. Nines noticed that and laid a reassuring hand on the woman’s shoulder.

“Mrs. Bennet, I think it would be best for you to leave us alone with him now. I will check his system to make sure your family isn’t in danger. Please stay outside.”

She nodded at that and Gavin was thankful the android took over the part of calming her down, because he definitely didn’t have a nerve left for overdramatic businesswomen right now. He entered the small room that was tidily decorated with white accessories which made it look too clean to be a kid’s room, but on the other hand the child behaved like its ‘parents’ wanted it to be programmed. The boy hugged his knees tighter, eying both Gavin and his partner with big, almond shaped doe eyes. His white skin was flawless and black hair combed neatly.

With a sigh the Detective knelt down in front of him while those dark-brown eyes fixated every of his movements. “Oliver, right?” A hesitant nod. “Can you tell me why you went outside although your – mother forbade it?”

“I wanted to play with the other kids on the street. I always see them from my window.” A small finger pointed towards the round window opposite to the bed. Oliver’s voice was shaking and it was obvious the child was afraid of the recent events. Gavin couldn’t blame him, with a mother that hysterical, calling the cops because her son disobeyed her to play outside. Despite knowing that this was just an android, the Detective’s guts turned at the frightened look on the boy’s face. An unknown anger against Mrs. Bennet rushed up inside of him. Wasn’t she supposed to care for this child-android and not throw him away the second it behaved like a normal kid would? In all honesty, he didn’t understand how someone could get an android in the first place, especially a child model, but she had actively made her decision. And now she was surprised that children act like children. It probably didn’t even have a software problem, but was programmed to behave like a human kid would and the woman couldn’t handle that. Pathetic to call the cops for that. He could be working on the Tides-case right now.

“Okay, Richard is going to run some quick tests now. It will be over quick.”

The boy’s eyes flicked to the tall figure behind the Detective and with every step the android was coming closer his eyes grew. “N-no, I don’t want to! He is scary!”

Gavin turned his head to watch the RK. His partner looked indeed intimidating, glacier cold eyes pinned to the other android in front of him, tall frame towering over both sitting figures.

“Oh don’t worry. He looks scary, but he’s harmless. A real lap dog actually. He even has a nickname, Nines.”, Gavin said with a sneer that owned him a warning glare of those ice blue eyes. “Just give him your hand and it will be over fast.”

Oliver still looked sceptical between the human and the RK, but eventually he held out his small arm and drew back his skin for an interface. Nines hummed appreciative and crouched down to touch the other android. Gavin watched closely as the skin retracted around those big hands that almost swallowed Oliver’s completely, silver and blue lines running over white panels where it wasn’t covered anymore. When they touched, he noticed a weird fog clouding the child’s dilating pupils, but Nines’ remained clear. His eyebrows were slightly drawn together and sat low on his face, showing his concentration as he searched the kid’s program for any clues.

Suddenly, his eyes widened. An almost sad expression flickered over the otherwise so smooth and stoic face and that was when Gavin knew. The child actually was deviant.

“And? What is it? Is it a deviant or not? What does the scan say?” Mrs. Bennet’s voice startled Gavin. She was standing in the door frame, craning her neck to see what was happening.

Alarmed, the Detective looked back at his partner’s face, calm again. Still, he thought there was something in the android’s eyes and the way he clutched the boy’s arm that wasn’t usual. Almost … desperate. Nines’ lids fluttered, opening and closing uncontrollably for a second before he forced them shut. The LED on his temple glowed alternating yellow and red.

Gavin knew that Oliver was a deviant and therefore it was their job to take the boy with them to the DPD and hand him to Cyberlife for an analysis. Yet, something in his guts turned again at that thought while pictures of his imagination from the time Nines had told him what they do with deviants flooded his mind. He should follow his duty now, but he knew he didn’t want to. This kid had done nothing wrong. Such a terrified boy couldn’t be threat. Not when someone like Mrs. Bennet managed to drag him into his room and lock him in.

For a moment, Gavin thought Nines had come to the same conclusion. For a second, he thought the android would pull away and tell the child’s owner everything was alright. But then he saw Nines mouth opening and he just knew the RK was about to tell her the truth. Gavin wasn’t sure he did because of his gut feeling or because of the expression of guilt he thought he had imagined wavering briefly in those blue eyes, but he was certain his partner would go through with it. So he had no other choice than to jump in.

“No, everything alright, Mrs. Bennet. Looks like Oliver here had a little software instability, a bug you could say. Nothing more. Right, Nines?” He knew the android wasn’t able to lie, but he hoped that he would agree with him if he didn’t have to say out the lie himself. Nines didn’t open his mouth, but he nodded shortly, eyes still fixed on the little boy in front of him that looked back and forth with a curious expression. Relief rolled over Gavin as he saw the faint gesture. “See? He confirms it. Your son is alright.”

When he turned his head to Mrs. Bennet though, he noticed her still not convinced face.

“I don’t know, I think I don’t want an android with a flawed program. I thought Cyberlife would build them perfectly. It would be better to get a new one.”

Anger boiled up in the Detective, but he hid it behind a false smile as he stood back up. This asshole really was unbelievable. Something is broken? Throw it away and get a new toy. Just like with everything else in her life probably. A scratch in her car? Just buy a new one! Oh how Gavin hated people like that.

“Mrs. Bennet, this android is in a perfectly fine condition. You will just have to deal with him like a human child.”

“Ahh, no, I don’t think me and my husband are comfortable with that. I wouldn’t feel safe.”

Gavin was about to reply to her, brisker this time, but Nines interrupted him before he could say anything. He had stood up as well, although still facing away from them.

“If you really feel uncomfortable having him, you could bring him to a changing centre. They offer to take child androids until someone else decides to buy one second-hand. You get part of your money back as well.”

The Detective closed his eyes and pinched his nose. He had no idea that ‘android-orphanages’ existed, though apparently, they did. ‘Buying a child second-hand’. Shit, this was so fucked up. But it was likely the only way the boy wouldn’t get disassembled.

“Hm, that’s not a bad idea. We would even get something out of it, financially, so we won’t be left with the whole damage. The warranty is long expired anyway.”

Gavin would have loved to shove her out of his way, disgusted by her ignorance and greed as the boy behind them started crying again. Not even he could stay unmoved at this and he felt his fingers curl into a fist beside him. Nonetheless, it had been a smart move by Nines, he had to admit that. She was most likely to give Oliver to this changing centre if she believed to get something out of it. Small footsteps behind him caught his attention again.

“Mommy, I don’t want to leave, I want to stay here!” The voice was trembling and more tears ran down his face as the boy stopped in front of his caretaker. With a sigh, Gavin crouched down in front of him, attracting the wide child-eyes. He rummaged through his pockets in search of anything that could be comforting, although he knew that it mainly was stuff you couldn’t hand a kid, not even an android one. Pushing past the lighter, a package of cigarettes and the small swiss pocketknife, his fingers closed around some of the loose change clinking in his jacket. When he looked down, an old silver eagle laid in his palm, scratched on the edges, but still shiny. Cash had gotten rarer in the last years, so they weren’t as common anymore.

“Here. Keep it. You will make it through this, I promise.” He pressed the coin into the boy’s hand and lightly smiled at him before standing up and ruffling his hair a little awkwardly. “Goodbye, Oliver Twist.”

The Detective didn’t care that Mrs. Bennet was eying him nosy or that Nines threw him a look he couldn’t read. _It’s just an android_, he told himself. Still, the knot in his stomach loosened a little as the child stopped crying and stared fascinated at the small object between his fingers as if he had never seen something like that before.

“Let’s go, Nines. I think we’re finished here.” The woman flinched a bit at his cold tone.

“Mrs. Bennet.” The android nodded in the blonde woman’s direction as he followed his partner towards the door.

“Thank you for coming by, Detective.” With that, she opened the front door for the two to leave. Gavin grunted his goodbye.

Just before the door fell shut behind his back, he heard a faint “Goodbye, Detective.”, said by the little boy.

Trying to shake off that weird feeling in the back of his head, he hurried down the stairs and outside the building complex, only relaxing when the cool air hit his face. Nines luckily remained silent, but he could feel the android’s gaze on him as he pulled out his lighter and a cigarette, struggling to light it. When he finally managed to make the end glow, he took a deep drag, collecting the smoke in his lungs for a second before exhaling it in small puffs. After a few seconds of silence, Gavin leaned back against the brick wall behind him and rested one foot against it as well. “Damn, this shit was fucked up.”

He took another drag while watching the smoke rise from between his fingers. “You okay, tin can?”

The RK raised his head at that, brows still furrowed a little as he eyed his partner. “Yes, Detective.”

“Really? You looked like you busted a fuse in there. Sure you didn’t hit your head or something when they pushed you to the ground?”

“No, I am certain, but thank you for your concern, Detective Reed.”

“Hmph.”, Gavin grunted in response. “Let’s get back to the precinct.” Nines followed him as usual while the Detective finished his smoke on the way towards the car. He felt tired and really wanted to get home for once. “By the way, I won’t be in the rest of the week, so don’t wonder when you don’t see me around.”

Nines tilted his head a little. “Are you on a vacation?”

“Kind of.”

“I didn’t see anything entered in the calendar, are you-“

“I’m just not there, alright? Don’t piss yourself, Fowler knows. Now, just get into the car.”

The RK fell silent at that, despite still eying Gavin from the side. “Sure, Detective.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading the update! By the way [this](https://www.google.com/search?q=warehouse+style+apartments&rlz=1C1CHBF_deDE791DE791&sxsrf=ALeKk00kBiBlS3_FRJrmeEf_mXuPGXjyTA:1591105153899&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj9_P3LoOPpAhWE2KQKHX-IAV0Q_AUoAXoECAsQAw&biw=1536&bih=754#imgrc=0pvWbJv4aNv21M) is how I imagined the Bennet's apartment.  
The guy that pushed down Nines and threatened Gavin was the protestor that assaulted Markus as well, hehe. I really liked the dynamic of that group.  
See you in chapter 12, I am looking forward to it! Stay safe everyone. <3


	12. Bad Reputation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey and welcome back for chapter 12!! I will explain more in the end, but now I don't want to hold you back too much. ^^  
This is the first chapter that was beta-read from my dear friend [PonyuNYA](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PonyuNYA) <3<3<3 thank you so much!! She really helped me out, so go check her out, she will release a fic herself soon. :3
> 
> >This is the first song chapter of Soft Spot, it's Gavin's theme song ;D Go listen to it, you (maybe, just maybe) will come across it in the chapter. ^^ [Bad Reputation](https://youtu.be/-WfB5WzDUEM) <
> 
> Disclaimer: - heavy arguing  
\- throwing up  
\- alcohol abuse  
(- Just to get that out of the way: I don't intend to portray Gavin as suicidal or actively self-harming. Yes, he is a mess and has self-destructive tendencies, but suicidal is NOT what I want to implement!!)

The precinct was dark, only a little light fell into the bullpen through the small windows close to the ceiling. Rain drummed against the glass, sometimes heavier, sometimes slower, though always drawing steady lines down the slightly foggy pane. The room itself laid in blackness, aside from the dim shine of multiple blue LEDs glowing in the darkness, their owners all resting in stasis.

Richard let his eyes wander over the charging Officer androids on the other end of the office until they settled on a face, he knew he wore as well. Connor had his lids closed, LED calmly glowing as he wasn’t processing anything at the moment. Unlike the Police androids, the two RK’s didn’t need charging as they were updated models built for more reliable and protracted work in investigations. And he himself as Cyberlife’s latest prototype depended even less on outside help to operate. Faster. Stronger. More resilient in any way. Still, Cyberlife’s best creation somehow wasn’t able to enter stasis. His processor was crowded with analytics of the latest events. Reed helping him out of that perpetrators grip instead of shooting him once he got the chance. The Detective defending him from that angry mob almost charging at him. That child android, Oliver, and the software instability occurring when Richard was supposed to tell his owner that he was deviant. Reed covering up his struggle with a lie back there. All these events replayed in front of his eyes as his program desperately tried to analyse the shown behaviour and reactions into something logical, yet it didn’t want to work.

Trying to concentrate on something that actually was analysable, Richard shifted his focus towards the data of the precinct’s staff he had collected over the last week and the few days of his second at the DPD. Reed had indeed made his announcement true as he hadn’t been at work the last three days. Monday had been the last time Richard had seen him, now it was Thursday night or rather Friday morning. 1 am. And the RK900 stood in his corner he usually occupied across from the other androids, but he was active while processing the data stuck in his head.

The first day he had wandered around the precinct a bit aimlessly as he wasn’t allowed to work outside without his human partner who apparently had an unannounced holiday. When he had asked Captain Fowler about it, the man had just reassured him that he should stay at the precinct until Reed returned. That would be in a week, he had said. So the android had returned to his position, waiting for the week to pass. After a few hours, Lieutenant Anderson had sighed before waving his partner’s successor over to their workplace.

“One can’t work if you stare into the bullpen that god damn lost! You look like a kid they forgot to pick up. So for fucks sake, get your metal ass over here.”

The man’s words sounded grumpy, but he added a small reassuring smile afterwards. When Richard had joined Connor and Lieutenant Anderson, they had started to integrate the RK900 into their conversations, even letting him into their discussions surrounding cases. Richard didn’t know why, but it somehow made that weird sensation in his stomach ease a little. Feeling useless was the worst for his kind, especially for him as he was designed to be the best. Just standing around, doing nothing, went strongly against his programming, although it seemed like the humans wanted exactly that from him. Over the last two days however the Lieutenant had waved him over every time he and Connor discussed a case, giving the RK900 an opportunity to get useful again. On Wednesday he had spoken with Officer Chen and Miller in the break room a little, building work relationships and acquainting the two people a bit his partner seemed to get along with the best. During the times Anderson and Connor were outside to investigate, he started to talk to Tina Chen every now and then until the other human-android team returned and let him be part of their analysis. The female Officer was very smart and especially skilled with technology, making the conversations with her particularly vivifying for Richard’s own system while she asked about his programming. In the breaks, the Lieutenant usually left his partner and Richard behind at the bullpen to get some sort of lunch from across the street. The two RKs had used that time to exchange data, compare their experiences or just sit in silence till the bearded human returned, often grunting something about twins into his food. As the three days went past, it became almost a routine for Richard to walk over to the other men to spend his day with them. It made him feel useful again. And since he had prevented the Lieutenant to get shot, the man started to warm up to him, or better to both of them. There were little jokes made by the rest of the Officers, Richard overheard at the break room about Anderson having two shadows now. He didn’t seem to mind though and continued to integrate both Connor and Richard in his work and thought process.

Now however, the precinct was empty, swallowed by darkness long before the first person would enter. That was when a sudden notification dropped into Richard’s HUD, an incoming call. Lieutenant Hank Anderson.

Activating his motion controls, the android moved a bit away from the middle of the bullpen before answering the call ringing in his head. He didn’t need to talk out loud, but he didn’t want to disturb anyone with his circling LED.

“Lieutenant Anderson?”

“Yes, Rich, you hear me?” On the other side of the line the rustle of clothes was audible. Apparently, the Lieutenant had the phone jammed between ear and shoulder.

“Yes, I can hear you.”

“Okay, good, listen, I need your help.” There was something like the sound of an angry cat and some shattering glass coming from the phone connection. “You have to get to the location I am at right now.” Voices elicited from somewhere around the man, some angry ones and one was singing in slurred words. “Ahh, stop moving so much!”

“Lieutenant?” Richard asked a little concerned.

“Sorry, I just- god dammit, will you stop already Reed!” That was when the android recognised the dull voice in the background, humming a song and rambling about something inaudible to Richard’s sensors.

“Is- Is that Detective Reed?”

“Yes, yes it is and he is wasted beyond sanity! Idiot can’t even stand straight.”

_“That’s not-true, ol’man! I can sta-and perfectly fine on m’a own!”_ The familiar voice protested against the statement.

The Detective indeed sounded very drunk, though that just didn’t want to fit his profile. He was the one entering the precinct the earliest and leaving the last most of the time, always eager to solve his case, always ambitious. If that meant he held himself awake with coffee, he would do it. But he certainly didn’t drink alcohol, at least not regularly or in big quantities. Richard never noticed any smells on him and his vitals seemed normal. The Detective always wanted to be in control of the situation and got angry or lashed out when he felt it slipping away. It most definitely went against all the data Richard had collected on him so far.

“Shut up, Reed, I am half carrying you.” Anderson grunted slightly as if he shifted something heavy before he continued talking to the android. “Richard, you have to come and pick him up. I drank a little myself, so I can’t drive him to his flat.”

At first, Richard was startled at the request. He normally wasn’t allowed to get outside on his own, but the Lieutenant seemed serious about it.

“Why did you call me for that?” It came out colder than it was supposed to. The android was in fact simply curious about why the man had chosen him to supervise the Detective until he was sobered up.

“He is _your_ partner, isn’t he?! And you don’t need sleep, unlike Tina or any other human being that could _maybe _be willing to help this drunk jerk home!”

_“Hey, who are-you callin’ a drunk jerk, drunk jerk!”_

“Reed, don’t make me lose my temper!” Richard listened to the rustle and faint cursing on the other side until the background noise changed from rumbling as well as voices to rain and cars driving over wet concrete. “Seriously Nines, I could use a little help here.”

The name caused the android’s LED to circle yellow for a second, but Anderson couldn’t see that.

“Do you wish to call me Nines as well?”

“Huh?” The Lieutenant sounded distracted. “No, I just thought that was the nickname he gave you. Whatever, Richard, Nines, Rich, just get your metal ass over here.”

“I’ll be there in approximately fifteen minutes.”

“Alright.” Hank Anderson grunted. “Just hurry up.”

With that the line was cut and the RK900 blinked shortly as he reset his program to fully become active. Silent, not to wake any of the other androids in stasis, he made his way past the reception counters and out of the precinct towards the location of the Lieutenant’s phone.

The bar, not far from where the cab came to a halt, was situated in one of the old districts that hadn’t progressed nor degraded much in the last years, according to its records. Richard stepped out of the small cabin into the pouring rain which drenched his jacket fast. Letting his eyes wander up the tall building in front of him, he could already guess why it had pulled both the Lieutenant and Detective Reed here. The surrounding looked like it was the mid 2010’s, maybe a few elements of the 20’s added here and there after renovations and the modern street lights of course, but apart from that it emitted something a human would have called ‘nostalgia’. He was sure he wouldn’t meet a lot of other androids here.

Small puddles had formed on the sidewalk and reflected the dim light in front of the pub, distorted by the rain drops drawing sickles on the water surface. Richard took a step over them, walking towards the entrance with big strides. On the front a red sign was displayed, saying ‘No androids allowed’.

He spotted Anderson’s tall frame as well as grey hair outside in the small alley next to the bar, a few metres away from the entrance. A sunken down figure leaned against his shoulder.

“Rich, thank god.” The man said as he saw the RK approach.

“Lieutenant.”

The android nodded towards the bearded man holding up Richard’s swaying partner who raised his head at the new voice.

Reed looked as bad as he had ever seen him. The circles under his eyes were coloured a dark purple, the scruff on his chin was longer than usual and his lips had the same colour as the grey wall behind him. At the same time his cheeks were flushed red from the alcohol he had consumed, now evaporating off his shirt and detectable in his heaving breath. There was a small cut, no, a laceration on the left side of his lip like he had been hit with a heavy object or a fist. His hair clung to his forehead in strands, wet from the rain. According to the drenched shirt of the Detective and the dripping jacket of the Lieutenant, they must have stood outside for at least 10 minutes.

“Tin can! What’ya doin here?” The drunk man called out, slurring the words together, though in a happy tone. Still, Richard could see something sarcastic flash up in those grey-green eyes.

Ignoring the obviously non-accountable Detective, Richard turned towards the one that called him.

“Why are you outside? The rain is neither good for the Detective’s health, nor yours.”

Anderson shifted his colleague’s weight, now scowling from being ignored. “Reed threw a tantrum in there, so they kicked him out. I went with him as he clearly can’t stay on his feet for longer than ten seconds. Couldn’t leave him out here alone, god knows what he would have done. Probably weave off to the next pub. He was already wasted when he entered.”

“That’s usually-your job. So stop lecturing me.” The Lieutenant shot the younger man a warning glare.

“What happened? Why is he so intoxicated? I thought he took a vacation?” Richard’s hands darted forward as the Detective swayed so much, he threatened to pull the Lieutenant with him. Shortly making eye contact, he nodded towards the older man to take over. Thankful for the relay, Anderson sighed relieved and stretched the arm he had been supporting the other human with. Reed stumbled towards his partner while his head rolled against the taller one’s shoulder and the RK could immediately feel how half of the Detective’s weight was put on him. He held one hand on the man’s back to prevent him from falling over backwards, the other was ready to dart out should he decide to sway in the other direction.

“I have no clue.” Anderson replied. “All I know is that he always disappears for one week around this time of the year and when he shows up to work again, he is looking like shit. I think now I know why.”

The Detective threw his superior a sour look.

“No-need to get-rude, old man.” He mumbled against the android’s jacket. His words came out blurred, because of the cut and swelling of his lip, probably from some bar fight he had gotten himself into. Richard shrugged his head up before it could roll off the shoulder.

“How did you get here?” The Lieutenant’s question was spoken clear, although the scan showed that he wasn’t completely sober himself. Still, he seemed to be in possession of all his cognitive functions.

“With a taxi.”

“Damn, why didn’t you take one of the police cars?”

Richard looked up confused. “Androids are not allowed to steer vehicles without human supervision.”

That caused the grey-haired policeman to groan. “Couldn’t you have bent the rules? Now we have to wait for another cab to arrive!”

“Androids don’t _bend_ the rules, Lieutenant.”

“Yeah yeah, I got it. Man, you and Connor both need to loosen up a little.”

Richard chose not to reply to that comment as it wouldn’t have any use to correct the human that he and his predecessor were incapable of doing so. Rules were rules. You didn’t break the programming, that was what deviants did.

“I called a taxi a few minutes ago. It should arrive in the next minute.”

He looked over to the other man, drenched to the bones just like all of them were by now. The rain still fell relentless from the night sky.

“Thank god. I can’t wait to get home now.” In that moment, one of the self-driving cabs turned the corner, dimmed glass lined with yellow glowing signs. “Ah, finally. Wake up Reed, it’s time to get home!”

The addressed Detective winced under Richard’s arm and his head shot up from where he had been dozing. “Wha?”

“Richard is getting you to your flat now, so don’t make such a fuss again.”

Coming to a halt behind them, the taxi’s doors opened with a silent hiss.

“Oh, how nice of the plastic-prick. Couldn’t find someone willing t’get me home, huh Hank? So the machine has-to-do.”

Anderson grumbled in a warning tone. “Just shut up and get in the cab before I lose my patience.”

The android had carefully pushed his partner closer towards the entrance and turned them around now to get the man to enter the vehicle. When the Detective saw the taxi though, his muscles stiffened and he dug his heels into the ground. Suddenly, he was fully awake again and struggled not to be seated into the small car.

“No, I’m not gonna get into this thing! Phck no!”

The Lieutenant grunted annoyed at his colleague’s stubbornness to drag this on longer than necessary, but Richard could sense that there was something else to it. Reed’s eyes were widened, pupils blown wide and his heartrate jumped up the second he got close to the entrance. He was scared.

“Oh stop making such a fuss! For fucks sake, I am drenched and tired and all I want to do is get home!! Get into the stupid cab, Reed!”

The Detective shook his head violently, hands pushed against the edge of the door opening to hold himself away from it.

“No, you don’t understand, I am not getting into one of those. I won’t enter this phcking machine and let it drive!”

Hank must have heard the slight tremble in Reed’s voice as well, because his eyes squinted a bit before rounding the two to get a closer look.

“You’re terrified.” He stated after a second, the phrase being more an observation than a question.

“No, just, phck, I just really hate these things, okay?” It was supposed to sound firm and calm, yet the faint desperation swinging in his partner’s words was noticeable to the android. He had stopped pushing the Detective towards the taxi the moment his partner started struggling against him, but the man still seemed convinced that Richard was about to force him into the vehicle. His fingers were white around the frame of the car, clinging to the metal like a cat about to be bathed, and his heartbeat still hammered fast in fear.

Anderson eyed the man for a while before taking a deep breath and releasing it in a loud sigh.

“Alright, fine. If a cab really is such a problem for you, then we won’t force you.”

Relieved at those words, the Detective squirmed free of his partner’s grip and staggered to the wall behind them to support his weight with one hand. His breath was still hastened a little as if he had been running. The Lieutenant furled his eyebrows at the strange behaviour, but remained silent. Behind them, the taxi doors closed before the cab drove off.

“Detective, how am I supposed to get you home without making use of a taxi?”

“I think I have an idea.” Richard turned his head towards the older man who sighed again. “I can’t believe I’m suggesting this.” He had his arms akimbo and looked up into the sky. “But you could use my car. I’m not parked far from here and if Rich drives, you should be on the legal side.”

That made the android raise his eyebrows. “Lieutenant?”

“Don’t make me question my decision, son, this is the only way to get this wasted idiot to his apartment.” Richard didn’t know what he should be more confused by, the fact that Hank just called him ‘son’ or that he was willing to let him drive his car. As he knew from Connor, the Lieutenant cared a lot for his old manual vehicle. “As you have Reed with you as a _supervisor_, there shouldn’t be a problem with you driving.”

Even the Detective was quiet now, not protesting or taking offense by the other’s insults.

“But how are _you _supposed to get to your home if we take your car?” The RK900 asked.

“I will take a cab. Would’ve had to order one anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

The Lieutenant threw him a small smile. “Yes, I will manage, Rich. Just get this idiot home and message me afterwards.”

Nodding, the android turned to his partner who still supported himself on the wall. “Are you alright with that, Detective?”

The man eyed him for a moment before nodding. “Fine. ‘s long as-I won’t be driven by such-a-creepy phcking machine, ‘m fine.”

Richard was surprised that Reed gave in so fast as the android technically also was a ‘phcking machine’, though he seemed to have forgotten that detail.

Without protest he let the RK900 sling one arm around his waist to help him walk to the car around the corner. Lieutenant Anderson followed them with a little distance.

“If anything happens to my car, you are dead, understood?” The older man threatened Nines while the android helped his partner get into the passenger seat.

“I am not alive, Lieutenant, therefore you can’t kill me. Though be assured that I will return your car in the morning in an undamaged condition.”

That earned him a look from the grey-haired man he somehow couldn’t interpret, yet it caused an uncomfortable sensation to ascend from his stomach, spreading like a thirium leak.

“Whatever. Just get this asshole home and stay with him so he doesn’t choke on his vomit while asleep.” With that the Lieutenant put the car keys into his partner’s successor’s palm a bit more forceful than necessary.

Richard looked down on the silver key in his hand. Something must have upset the other and this weird sensation in his artificial intestines didn’t want to leave.

“Lieutenant Anderson?” The older human stopped from walking away and looked over his shoulder. “Thank you… For lending your car to us. I wish you a good night.”

His words seemed to work as Anderson’s expression eased. “Good night, Rich.”

Turning around, the two parted, one walking back into the pub to wait somewhere dry for his cab, the other entering the old car and sitting down on the driver’s seat. When the Oldsmobile rolled onto the street, there was nobody visible on the wet sidewalk anymore.

The red-brown steering wheel laid smooth under Richard’s fingers. Driving felt a little weird as it was his first time doing it and he was originally meant to drive way larger vehicles like tanks, built for investigations and war, but as the android had an advanced driving program installed, he adapted fast.

Meanwhile, the Detective was fascinated by the small figurine of a hula dancing woman, not tired at all anymore. The slugging person from a few minutes ago had been exchanged for a very active and restless Detective inspecting the Lieutenant’s car as they drove towards his apartment. They weren’t far from it, maybe a ten minutes’ drive, but as Reed grew noisier and more irresponsible, the android had to put a filter over his audio sensors not to get distracted too much.

Just a few minutes away from the apartment, the Detective found the stereo button for the music.

“Let’s see what the old man listens to.”

“Detective Reed, please leave the interior alone!”

“Calm down, tin can.” He reached for the volume control and put it up until the music was booming from the speakers. “Anderson actually has a great taste! This is not so bad!”

Richard groaned internally and lowered the volume a bit to stop the beeping in his sensors. Reed frowned at that, but let him go about it. He was busy drumming his fingers on his thighs to the rhythm of the rock and metal, head slightly nodding back and forth.

Shortly before they turned into the street the Detective was living in, a new song came on and the man next to Richard sat up straight.

“Oh, thisone’s isa good one.” he slurred through his swollen lip while turning the volume up again, though not as much as the first time.

_I like to live a little_ _  
I like to drink a little  
I like to smoke a little_

“Detective, we’re almost there, could you-“ Richard was cut off by his partner singing along to the song in a slightly out of tune way.

_I like the rush a little_ _  
Misunderstood a little  
We're all the same a little  
Some were just born to be bad_

The android just took a deep breath to cool his system’s climbing temperature. He figured it had no use to argue with the drunk man now while he parked the car on the side of the road across from Reed’s apartment. His partner was still singing along to the song as he got outside to round the car and help him out. But when he opened the door, it didn’t look like the Detective was planning on getting outside. He just stayed where he was, bobbing his leg and fingers to the music.

_Don't tell me what I should do or say_ _  
‘Cause I wanna do it my own way_

“Detective Reed, would you please get outside the car now?” Richard’s undertone was threatening enough to get the man moving, yet the smug expression and provocative glint in his eyes didn’t vanish. Raising his voice, he sang along to the lines.

_I don't give a fuck what you think what you say_ _  
I got a bad reputation_

“Okay, come on now.” The android’s voice stayed polite, although he couldn’t deny that his partner started to get on his artificial nerves while he put an arm around the other’s waist for support. Pushing the door shut, Richard locked the car one-handedly before trying to manoeuvre the still humming Detective to his own apartment door. The task ‘Bring home Detective Reed’ disappeared from his HUD and he sent a quick message to Lieutenant Anderson, saying that the mission was accomplished. Now he just needed to get the man inside and into his bedroom. The night around them was silent except for the sound of rain on the rooftops and on their jackets.

“Where do you keep your key?

“Right-pocket.”

While he fished for the keys in the leather jacket Reed was always wearing, his eyes caught on the black motorcycle in the driveway. At least the Detective hadn’t tried to drive in his state.

The pocket or better the whole jacket was soaked as they stood in the rain and from earlier as well. Both their hair was pressed to their skulls and the Detective’s shirt clung to his body. He had to prevent the man from catching a cold.

Finally, his fingers closed around the apartment key and Richard turned around to open the entrance. His partner swayed dangerously on his feet, but when the door swung open, he stumbled past the android and into his flat.

“Welcom’ t’my modest home, dipshit!” The Detective widened his arms in a presentative move. Richard chose to ignore the nick name just like he always did.

The apartment was dark, blinds half-way closed, yet that was no problem for the RK’s vision. To the left the kitchen was located with a small island in the middle, but the counter tops didn’t look used that much. Empty take-away boxes were stacked into each other and littered the surface.

To the right opened a small living room with a blue couch in front of a TV and a stereo on a shelf. There was a tiny guest bathroom and two doors across the room, leading into what probably was the bedroom and a storage chamber. No decorations, no plants, spartan furnishing. All in all, it looked rather tidy and clean except from the kitchen counter and a wrinkly blanket crumpled on the ground in front of the couch, but the tidiness came from sparse usage. The traces in the dust on the furniture revealed that the Detective usually just sat on the sofa from time to time with some take-away food while the kitchen didn’t seem to be in much use for actual cooking.

“Y’a assessing what my apartment can tell you about me? I can see you scanning ma-shit.” The Detective blurted out as he supported himself on the backrest of the couch. “Come on, amaze-me with your supr’ brain. What does this-image of a ‘better livin’ magazine cover tell you ‘bout the _mysterious Gavin Reed_?”

What earlier had been slight jibing, now turned into full sarcasm and Reed’s eyes glinted feisty in the dim lighting of the streetlamps from outside. Around his feet slowly formed a small puddle.

Richard didn’t fall for the provocative phrasing, just looked around a bit and made use of the time to collect and analyse new information. He could really use them as the Detective’s profile seemed to change from day to day.

“You rarely use the kitchen and rather order take-out.”

“Obvious one.” The human crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“You often sit on the couch, either to eat or to watch something on TV. Sometimes you will fall asleep there in your clothes and wake up in the middle of the night after you kicked off the blanket and will then go to your bedroom. It’s tidy, but that is because you aren’t home a lot. The dust on the shelves is untouched. No decorations, no pictures, you obviously prefer a more practical use of your apartment and don’t hold a lot of sentiment for having visual representations of the people close to you or you just don’t have many. In the mornings you will get up and only drink a coffee for breakfast before heading out, though sometimes you will make yourself a toast to take with you on your way out.”

The Detective stared at him with a mistrusting and put off face. “How do y’know all that shit?”

Richard folded his hands behind his back and sighed. Didn’t Reed learn by now that his program was advanced enough to analyse these details in seconds?

“There are crumbs under the barstool as well as along the floor towards the door and stains of Chinese food on the couch’s cushions. The blanket always lays on the floor as it is wrinkled and wasn’t ironed in a long time. I know that you often catch yourself on that shelf over there, as that is the only place where the dust is interrupted, indicating that you are half asleep at the time you stumble towards your bedroom. And the only regularly used object in the kitchen is the coffee machine.”

Not very hard to reconstruct, even a human could have pieced that together, although it would have been way more difficult for them to notice all clues.

The Detective snorted and smiled in a sarcastic, almost disgusted way while fixating the ground.

“You are so fucking creepy, tin can.” He lifted his head and looked at the android with an undefinable expression. “You stand there like a salt pillar, always so nice and polite as if you didn’t just dissect my home and private life.”

“You asked me to do it, Detective.”

The man lifted to his feet, swaying shortly before making his way towards Richard, a sneer on his face. “Yeah, and you did it in the most emotionless and cold way possible. Always neutral and analytic, never a glimmer of impulse or interest in what is happening around you. You just want to dissect every detail you can get your plastic hands on and report everything to Cyberlife the second I turn my back on you.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but the suppressed anger was audible in his words nonetheless. By now, Reed stood right in front of the android as he glared up and gestured at his partner, causing him to dangerously sway again.

“Detective, you aren’t in a good condition to argue. I will bring you to your room now.” Richard reached out to support him, just for his hands to be slapped away.

“Don’t touch me, dipshit!” This time, the man’s words had a lot more volume and bite to them. “And don’t just change the subject like that! This isn’t about my _condition_, this is about you not being able to act like a normal fucking being!”

“I was built to investigate and fight, not to keep up _small-talk_.” Richard replied, eyebrows set low in a warning expression. This conversation started to annoy him. He had one simple objective, to bring Detective Gavin Reed to his bed, and the stubborn human elongated this more than necessary.

“I thought you are the one trying to better our work relationship.” The other said, laughing. “Even if I would try to make conversation with you, it wouldn’t improve anything. Could just as well talk to a stick on the ground, if I wanted to talk to something cold and stoic!”

Somehow Richard felt how his thirium pump sped up a tiny notch and he closed his eyes at an unfamiliar sensation rising in his inner workings. He had felt this before, when he argued with the Detective or when he had ordered him to shut up and move away, but he couldn’t name it, it wasn’t part of his programming. The only thing he knew was that it made him curl his hands into fists.

“Detective Reed, this is getting immature. I will help you towards your room and then you will go to sleep and sober up.”

“No, you wanted to talk, so now we talk! It may not be what you hoped for, but guess what, life isn’t fair. You can have fun conversations with Anderson or your freaking twin, but you won’t weasel your way out of this!” At least the Detective didn’t slur his words that much anymore. The cut on his lip was still open and impeding his speech, yet the drunkenly muttered phrases had vanished. The anger made him speak more clearly and with much more force than before. “You’re always so cold and distanced, no real facial expressions, movement always calculated, talking like you know everything better.” The last part was almost spit out in front of his feet. “Just like the emotionless bastard you are.”

Richard didn’t react, despite his fist clenched tighter. The Detective didn’t see that though and he staggered closer until his angry face was right up to the android’s unmoving one.

“You wouldn’t even flinch to kill your own species, am I right? Ah I forgot. I already know you wouldn’t. Even when you are crushing another android’s neck you stay untouched and cold-hearted.”

The RK900’s nails bore themselves into his palms at the memory of that deviant’s data strings and thirium pipes bursting under his elbow.

“I did that to save your life, Detective, don’t forget that.”

“Oh yeah, I bet you did it because you like me so much.” Reed snarled sarcastically. “You still don’t have a problem to turn in deviants that didn’t even lay hand on a human. Just because they are not working like Cyberlife wants them to, you hand them over to their own death.”

“Androids can’t die, Reed, they are just machines. And deviants don’t have real emotions, it’s just a defect in their software.”

“Tell that the little boy we questioned a few days ago!”

That took Richard aback and he closed his mouth as he looked down at his partner with a slightly confused expression.

“That kid was a deviant, wasn’t it?”

The android still remained silent while they stared at each other. He kept his mimic unaffected during the time his program hectically tried to find a fitting answer, not to show the other studying his face any of his inner software crashes. If he denied the question, he would lie, but if he admitted the child android had been a deviant, he would have to explain the human why he covered it. A few seconds passed before Reed spoke up again.

“Wow. You totally would have sold out that kid.” There was a mixture of disbelieve and disappointment audible in the Detective’s words. He backed away a few steps, slowly shaking his head.

The android’s system ran on high-speed, jumping from option to option and causing Richard’s processor to run hot. _No, no, this isn’t right, I am just a machine, I shouldn’t be confronted with morally high questions, I have to stay rational!_

“May I remind you that that android wasn’t a real child but a defective machine, Detective?”

Reed supported himself on the couch with one hand again, staring at his partner with a deprecatory face.

“It still shouldn’t be that easy for you! You almost sentenced him to death if I wouldn’t have intervened!”

“It is easy.” Richard growled. “There is either defect or not defect, that’s it.”

“Then why did you hesitate?” The Detective blurted out. “Why didn’t you correct me like you normally love to do when I said it’s just a little bug in the programming?”

_Software instability ^_

The RK stayed silent. He didn’t know the answer to that question himself.

“Ah, but it’s so easy, right?” The human huffed as he shook his head in a deprecative manner and turned his head away. “God, I’m glad I didn’t take you with me inside to that other deviant.”

Richard couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The words had been said under the man’s breath, whispered to himself so that the android wouldn’t hear them, but that was no challenge for his sensors. The only time the Detective hadn’t taken him with him inside somewhere had been last week when they traced the fled android after the heist. Reed had asked the RK900 to trust him to go into the house alone, owned by a family called Chapman. Richard still recalled the weird body signals of his partner when he came back, though at that time he didn’t pressure it in favour of their relationship. He had chosen to believe the Detective. To find out now that he had been fooled and that his scan had been right from the start, caused that weird sensation from earlier to spike.

“Reed, did you keep from me that there _was_ a deviant in that house?” His voice was quiet and threatening while his fists clenched even harder, nails almost breaching his skin layer. He took a few steps towards the human, head low. Reed flinched a little when he saw his expression, something unsettled flashing up in his eyes for a second, but he didn’t retreat from his spot.

“Oopsie.” The word dripped with sarcasm and Richard felt how the mask of indifference fell from his face as his features distorted into a snarl-like expression.

“Are you serious right now?! That deviant could have killed everyone in that house, including you! System errors are no joke, Reed! I can’t believe how irresponsible and naive you can be!!! We have to go back there and arrest it as soon as possible!!” The android didn’t even notice that he had raised his voice, but he did, almost yelling at the man in front of him who winced at the sudden volume.

“Don’t bother. They are long gone by now.”

Richard glared at his partner now.

“I can track them down very fast, don’t worry, Detective.” His own words had gotten something like an ironic undertone, despite still sounding like a threat.

“No, you won’t!” Now Reed was raising his voice as well. “It’s not our problem to deal with. Deviant cases belong to Anderson and his pet!”

“Not anymore, they are _our problem_ now as well if you remember.” Richard answered, which took his partner aback. It looked like the Detective had indeed forgotten that Fowler had put them on the deviant cases as well.

The feeling in the android’s chest, head and arms grew more heated and heated as he processed the situation, burning up inside his components like a raging fire. Somehow the escape of the deviant was buried under the fact that Reed had lied to him after asking him to trust him. He was ̸̟͎͉̭̟̝̪f̵ư͍͔̤̩͈͎̦r͖i̴̻o̝͔͉͕̘u̥̘̫s̷̯̺̗̺.

“I can’t believe that you first talk about trust and that I should have faith in your abilities and the next thing you do is lie to my face!!” He yelled at his partner, voice filled with ̭̲̳͍͈̦͎͢a҉̙̜͔̟͚ṋ̖g̻̬e͕͉r̡̪̳̝.

“Yes, because you are a god damn emotionless machine!!” The other shouted back.

Richard couldn’t help but feel that it specifically had something to do with the ‘emotionless’ part. Was the man sympathising with those _malfunctioning _androids? He took another step in the other’s direction.

When he spoke again, it sounded threateningly low. “Reed, don’t tell me you are protecting or covering up deviants.”

“No, but if I don’t see imminent danger, it’s none of my business.” The Detective tried to sound casual and indifferent about it, but Richard noticed his heartrate spike for a second. “That child and the AK didn’t do anything, they never hurt a human being. And maybe I am more willing to let a deviant go than to lose more human lives to ‘the Tides’.”

The android looked at the man for a second, seeing how uncomfortable his partner was. He let two fingers run over the scar on his nose in a nervous habit.

“So you pity them.”

The Detective’s head shot up and Richard could already tell from his expression that the next sentence was going to be loud.

“Well, I definitely have more sympathy for them than I have for you!!” The man got up from where he was leaning against the couch and turned his whole body to face his partner directly. “They don’t injure anyone and unlike you, they don’t steal any jobs!” Reed’s face was red from a mixture of alcohol and rage as he snarled at the android. “You are a burden, a weight pulling me down and keeping me in place, not letting me get any further!!”

That burning sensation flamed up in Richard’s chest and arms again, spreading down into his fists. He took a few slow steps towards his partner, threateningly looming over the human. Some messages popped up into his HUD, saying that Reed was scared of him as he flinched away from the android and that he wasn’t in a state to be argued with, but Richard had already snapped. _He_ was holding Reed back?! The android couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He pushed aside the notifications about him getting too close to the Detective, making the other’s heartrate rise from anxiety in the process, yet he was too f̵ư͍͔̤̩͈͎̦r͖i̴̻o̝͔͉͕̘u̥̘̫s̷̯̺̗̺ to pay any attention to them.

“Then why didn’t you let the gang member shoot me? You could have even taken me out yourself, it was the perfect opportunity to destroy me and the perpetrator would have taken the blame for it. Why didn’t you just let it happen when you are so eager to get rid of this _weight_ and dispose this version of me?”

Reed was quiet, he just stared up into his eyes, face now unreadable. The only indicator that he wasn’t frozen was the slight twitch of his left eyebrow.

“I definitely don’t like you, but you are still my partner. And I won’t let anyone hurt or kill my partner except for me.”

That caused the android to raise his brows in surprise. He hadn’t expected such a blunt as well as determined answer, though the man’s vitals didn’t show any signs of a lie. Reed had never referred to him as his partner before.

Richard was so startled, he almost missed how much the Detective swayed back and forth. Reed’s face was as pale as the wall behind him, nothing of that angry redness left. His lips trembled a bit while he tried to reach out for the backrest of the couch to stop his dangerous swaying. That pulled the android back into reality and his hands darted out to prevent the other from falling and this time Reed didn’t push him away, he was way too weak to do anything like that. He closed his eyes as he staggered on his feet to keep his balance.

The human was in a worrying condition. Despite having had a bit of time for the alcohol to degrade, he was still intoxicated and wouldn’t sober up until the morning. Richard asked himself how he could have let in on fighting and debating with his partner in such a drunk and irresponsible state.

When the Detective pressed a hand in front of his mouth together with his eyes growing big, the RK let go of his shoulders. Reed ran towards the small bathroom behind them and threw himself over the toilet before Richard could already hear his retching and gagging. Another sensation hit the android’s artificial guts with a pang, something cold worming through his wires. He felt ̻̭̬̘g̩̩͔̖̟͇ͅu̗̤̤̮̝̹̻͘i̲͚̹̰l̸̗͔̮͉̫t̡͓̰̭̘͖y͍̙ to have upset his partner so much, despite knowing about the state he was in from the beginning. Why had he engaged in such a useless dispute that obviously only worsened the human’s medical condition? He didn’t know, something must have gone wrong with his program, probably another software instability he didn’t notice. If this continued, he would definitely have to reach out to Cyberlife for a check-up.

Richard interrupted his train of thoughts and followed his partner to the bathroom with hurried strides. Reed’s frame cowered in front of the toilet, fingers paling from the grip around the seat as if it was spinning around and he could lose hold of it. His back was shaking, only stopping when the next gag reflex forced his muscles to tense.

The android didn’t really know how to help, he only had a basic medical program installed for the worst cases. More out of a feeling telling him to comfort Reed than an actual suggestion from his system, he sat down next to his partner and hesitantly rubbed his back in circles with his own opened palm. It was almost like an ͓̩̹̞̘̖̘in̴͕͎̲͖s̝̠̹t̛̘̰̮i̹n̴͇c͓̼̣̤͙t̮͓̤͈ to reach out.

When the Detective was shaken by an exceptionally strong spasm as his stomach contracted, threatening him to lose his grip, Richard reached out and put both of his arms around the man’s shoulders to steady him. He immediately felt how much Reed needed that support, swaying and torso almost going limp in between the attacks of his own body.

The gusts of throw-ups slowly died down over the span of a few minutes until the Detective weakly slumped down and his head rolled against the android, cheek pressed against his shoulder. His breath was shaky and he kept his eyes closed for about another minute.

Richard had his arm laid on the human’s back, shirt still drenched from the rain and dripping water onto the tiles. He needed to get Reed some dry clothes or otherwise the human would definitely catch a cold if he hadn’t already by now. The man in his arms was shaking like a leaf.

“How much did you drink?”

“A lot.” The response was mumbled into the fabric of Richard’s jacket.

“How did you even end up in that bar with Anderson?” He needed to understand what had happened in order to provide optimum help.

“Been’bar hoppin’.”

“And how exactly did you plan on getting home again?” The android asked with a raised brow.

“Walking?” Reed’s grunted answer sounded as if it was the most logical option ever.

“At night, in pouring rain? In November?”

“Oh shut up and better help me to the sink, tin can.” The Detective’s reply didn’t hold a lot of bite as he was exhausted, despite the hard phrasing.

Richard sighed and rose to his feet to carefully help his partner up from the ground and over to the sink so he could wash his mouth from the unpleasant taste.

“We need to get you changed into something dry. Am I allowed to enter your room and get some fresh clothes?”

“Mhm, ‘ll wait here.”

The RK carefully let go of the man holding onto the sink to make sure he would be able to stand on his own. “I will be back in a minute.”

Richard left the small bathroom and headed in the direction of the bedroom he had located earlier. When the door swung open, a relatively big room stretched in front of him, the centre occupied by a large unmade bed standing against the wall and a wooden drawer next to it. On the right he noticed a door, a bit ajar so he could see glimpses of the main bathroom through the slit. To the left, a glass door lead onto a small balcony hanging over the ground that slightly dropped down behind the house. A single plant was situated on the windowsill next to a slim black wardrobe. As soon as he saw it, the android headed towards it and opened the drawers to search for a shirt and a pair of underwear or sweatpants.

The blinds were halfway closed and the air in the bedroom was stale. The Detective didn’t seem to have let in some fresh air in a few days and according to the discarded laundry on the floor, he had just thrown off his clothes before falling straight into bed. Richard had gotten to know the man as relatively organised, at least enough to look after his belongings in regular patterns. The bloodied shirt and ripped jeans laying on the ground for at least two days spoke against that, although he assumed it was because the Detective had been in a bad physical and mental state at that time.

Richard wondered what could have driven the man that far, to abandon his usual habits and standards like that. Reed was, colloquially speaking, a control freak, he hated losing the oversight over the situation. Alcohol took that control away, so it made absolutely no sense for him to go on a multiple day spree from bar to bar. Something must have impacted the Detective heavily to drive him as far as reaching for liquor to get that wasted. And according to Lieutenant Anderson, this happened every year.

The android’s fingers finally closed around what he was looking for and pulled an old green shirt out of the drawer together with a pair of grey boxers before making his way out of the bedroom.

Coming back to the bathroom, he was met with a shut door. Reed must have closed it after he left, maybe for more privacy. But when Richard got closer to the small room, his sensors picked up a quiet sniffle and a stifled sob right behind the door, causing his hand to stop in motion and hover over the handle in shock for a moment.

“Detective?”

He pushed down, just to find the door locked from the inside.

The silent crying stopped immediately, but it didn’t help to ease the ̡̹͎c̢͔͉̥̘̱o͙̙̦n͏c̭̭̦̱͉ͅe̬̺̖̠̫̞̱r̡̞͍͕̤̦͈͈n̰ rising in the android’s stomach. He pushed down the handle again, leaning more against the door now in case it was just a little jammed, but it had no use. It was locked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh, thank you for reading! I was/am so excited for this, I was looking forward to this chapter from the very beginning and it's finally here!! This is basically the first major turning point for the story. :0 Excuse the cliffhanger, I just had to cut it because the length got out of hand ^^. Sorry that it took so long to update, the exams really had me in their clutches. After this week everything is done and the schedule will hopefully get back to normal again. Thank you so much for being patient with me. <3  
And I really have to take a moment and thank you all. All your comments really got me through this exam period, I regularly revisted them, they are really the fuel of my inspiration. <3<3<3 122 subscriptions, 270 kudos and 89 bookmarks (with the private ones), this is INCREDIBLE!!! I am so so thankful and happy, you don't know how this fills me with joy! As this year really sucks, I am so glad I can always come here. Thanks to everyone paying this story a visit, this really became my baby. You are amazing and I appreciate it so much what you do for me. I hope I will be able to give back a bit of this through the story. Still a very speechless writer. <3  
(Side note: I will participate in the Reed900 Reverse Big Bang and the DBH big bang this summer, so more stories to come. Soft Spot will be updated normally though. Whatever normal is :D)   
I managed to increase my social media, so if you want to pay a visit feel free! Everyone stay safe, much love! - Fantasy  
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	13. Targets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey and welcome back! This chapter was beta-ed by the awesome PonyuNYA again! <3  
In this episode: progression of the canon story, but of course I bend it to my will as always ;P
> 
> One could say that we close the "enemies" chapter in this and start to peek at the new one called "friends" ^^ Enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: - near death experience of another character

“Go away Nines.” Reed’s voice resonated from behind the door, a little hoarse as if he had a lump sitting in his throat. According to the RK’s scans, he was cowering right in front of the door, back leaned against the panel. The weak exhaustion audible in his voice made Richard’s worry rise even more. The Detective was either angry or sarcastic, he had never sounded so powerless before. This didn’t want to fit into the picture he had of the Detective and the alarming abnormity of his partner’s behaviour caused the android’s program to glitch.

“Detective, please let me in. You need to change into dry clothes.” Richard tried to make his voice sound as gentle as possible. The human obviously was impacted by something greatly upsetting, his emotional status seemed to be highly struck. Somehow, it caused that sensation in Richard’s stomach to tighten. Reed definitely wasn’t a person to show his feelings openly and catching him this unexpected made the android feel as if he was intruding his partner’s privacy while in this vulnerable state.

“Then put it in front of the door or something. Leave me alone, goddammit.”

This time his words were a little louder, but it only emphasised how much he held back his sobs.

“Detective Reed, I-“ Before he could finish what he was about to say, he was interrupted by an angry shout from the other side.

“Fuck off already!!”

Reed’s voice broke on the last syllable, angry and frustrated at the same time and the android could hear how desperately the Detective tried to bite back his tears.

“No!” Richard surprised himself with the volume of his own reply. “I won’t leave you alone like this!”

It was quiet for a moment, both sides stunned in silence after that bluntness. The RK900 could hear his partner’s shaking breaths behind the door and he almost laid his hand above the place he knew the other was behind, though he stopped himself millimetres away from the wood.

“Please,” the android whispered, “I don’t want to break down this door, but I will if you leave me no other choice.”

When the human spoke again, he had regained a bit of his composure, though despite the calm tone of his voice the android froze on the spot.

“I order you to go back to the DPD.”

In the periphery of Richard’s Hud, a small notification appeared.

_New instruction: Go back to the precinct._

He was frozen in place, watching as a red wall appeared in front of his eyes. On the outside the android stood perfectly still, just staring ahead at the crimson barrier blocking him from breaking down the door, but on the inside, he was pushed into inner turmoil. He couldn’t leave Reed like this, not in such a bad physical and mental state. The man needed help, even though he obviously didn’t want it. Carefully reaching out, the simulated version of himself laid a hand against the blockade just to flinch back instantly. A sharp sting shot up his arm, causing Richard to grimace at the unfamiliar sensation and stare at his hand in disbelief. So this was pain. It would have been interesting to him if it wasn’t for the situation they were in at the moment. He needed to get to the other side, but his program didn’t seem to let him. The order had been made clear, there was no going around it. Except he could find something that conflicted with the command.

The android frantically searched for anything that could be prioritized over Reed’s order, yet even the Detective being in imminent danger wouldn’t let him break the command. A new update to the RK900 to prevent his model to fall out of line: If a human made the decision an android’s help wasn’t needed, it had to obey to that decision. Except they were mentally incompetent and therefore couldn’t be held accountable for their own actions.

When Richard found that gap in his programming, it felt as if a weight fell off his chest while he watched the red wall shrink in front of him.

“I am sorry Detective, but you are not fully accountable at the moment due to your intoxication. Therefore, I am not obligated to act on your commands.”

It was silent on the other side for a second before the android heard someone shuffle behind the wooden barrier.

“Fine!!” Reed yelled, voice boiling over with rage and emotion. The door was yanked open. “If you wanna stay that badly!”

It was meant to sound louder and irater than it did, Richard could sense that, but the Detective was exhausted. His throat seemed to be sore from all the arguing earlier as well as the crying, face tired despite the obvious traces of frustration.

The android swallowed what he had been about to say at the sight of Reed’s red-rimmed eyes and tears glistening on his cheeks, drawing wet lines down to the stubbly jaw and shimmering in his lashes. It contrasted with the angrily furled eyebrows and thin line of lips, pressed together though trembling ever so slightly. The human was upset in more ways than just anger and he didn’t know how to fix that. Richard’s system searched for an appropriate reply, but his head remained empty.

“You happy now?!”

Reed swayed dangerously again, making the android activate to catch the man in front of him before he could stumble to the ground. The Detective struggled a bit to free himself from his partner’s arms, but it was a weak attempt under Richard’s grip. It had no use to try out the velvet glove method, the human only reacted to brutal honesty.

“No, I am not happy at all. I am very concerned about your mental health, Detective, you really alarmed me there. And I won’t leave until I know you are in a better condition, so I will stay the night to ensure nothing happens.”

Reed stopped struggling at that, he had lost all his energy from the fight earlier. Now his body was tired and weak, the RK could feel it in the way he leaned against him. It was silent between them for a while, but the Detective seemed to have given in to his exhaustion.

“Fine.” The bite had left his voice, he just sounded defeated.

Supporting the man with an arm around his waist, Richard helped him into his room and carefully sat him down on the edge of the bed. After picking up the clothes the android had dropped when he heard his partner crying, he came back into the bedroom and observed the other in front of him. Reed had shrugged off his leather jacket and was now gripping the edge of the mattress tightly to hold himself in balance, screwing his eyes shut every now and then as if he wanted to get rid of something blocking his sight.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m just- ugh, everything is spinning.”

The android came a few steps closer to lay a hand on his partner’s shoulder. “I will help you change then.”

Reed nodded while keeping his eyes closed. He was too occupied with holding himself up to complain about the RK assisting him.

“Raise your arms.”

Richard took the rim of the soaking shirt between his fingers before pulling it over his partner’s head. The revealed sight made him stop in his motion and he was glad that the man’s eyes were still shut.

It was dark in the room, but the android could still make out the countless scars covering Reed’s torso in the dim light falling through the blinds. A quick scan showed that most of them were caused by blades, interrupting the tanned skin in white lines like an abstract painting. Though it were the far rarer and more obtrusive round ones causing the RK900 to furrow his forehead, their small appearance marking where the Detective had been shot before. One bullet had pierced his shoulder right below the collarbone and had gone straight through the muscle; a few centimetres lower and it would have been lethal.

Struggling with his wet jeans, Detective Reed pulled at the fabric clinging to his skin before kicking it off his legs with an annoyed sound. When Richard held out a towel to him, he accepted it with a hesitant nod.

“Shit, why is everything so blurry,” he groaned while pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

“You are still severely intoxicated, Detective. Your circulatory system is affected by the alcohol.”

A grunt was the only answer the android got, but Reed complied when his partner helped him into a fresh shirt. On the right side of the man’s lower back flaunted another gunshot wound, old and healed, though scarred from the intrusion. It was situated right over the hip, a bit lower than the kidney and didn’t have an exit wound on the other side. The scar probably was that prominent because the bullet had been removed in an operation.

“Can you pass me the pants?”

Richard nodded and reached for the boxers he had grabbed earlier. When he turned back, his eyes caught on another scar, so different from the others he couldn’t help but stare at it. Along the Detective’s leg ran a long yet thin burn scar, molten flesh solidified into swirls of white on olive skin. It wasn’t big, but standing out even more in the dark, looking like a small flame dancing over the outer thigh itself and outlining where the fire must have seared the man in the past.

“Nines? You blew a fuse or why are you staring?” That brought the android back into reality, prying his eyes loose from his partner’s leg and passing him the pants he had been asking for. “Could you, like, turn around or something?”

Reed eyed him from beneath, voice a little impatient.

“Of course.” The RK turned around to let his partner change in quiet. He had totally missed the notifications reminding him that humans had a sense of shame when it came to their naked bodies.

“Alright,” the Detective said after a minute of struggling with the wet boxers he had been wearing, every single thread drenched, “I’m ready.”

Richard moved back, looking at the man in front of him who finally was dressed in dry clothes again. Reed let his head hang between his shoulder and held onto the bedframe due to his exhaustion. The laceration on his lip had stopped bleeding, but the human’s chin was still covered in bloody stains.

“I will be back in a second. Am I allowed to enter your bathroom and open some drawers?”

“Yeah, just … yes, whatever.” The Detective sounded too tired to care about Richard going through his belongings.

Quickly making his way to the kitchen, Richard collected a bottle of water and an empty bucket he found under the sink before returning to the bedroom. He placed the later next to the bed and pressed the bottle into Reed’s hands.

“Here, drink this.”

“Completely?” The android was already halfway on his way to the bathroom.

“Completely.”

After a few seconds of roaming through the mirror cabinet, he finally found what he was looking for and went back to his partner with some cotton pads, disinfectant, an old towel and a small bowl with lukewarm water. The Detective had finished about half the bottle, but he flinched every time the rim came into contact with his lip.

“Look at me,” the android dictated as he sat next to his partner on the bed, bowl on his lap. Reed complied without protest and turned towards him. “That cut needs to be cleaned. Can I touch you?”

A short nod. Richard dipped the towel into the water with one hand and lifted Reed’s chin with the other, stubble prickly beneath his fingers.

“Open your mouth a little,” he said and the other’s jaw relaxed. Careful, not to hurt the man, he started to clean the cut in gentle strokes, washing away the blood. Reed sighed, the tepid water apparently helping a bit to cool the swelling.

“Ya can chleep on ga couch for conight.”

“Don’t speak when I’m cleaning your lip, please,” Richard reminded his opposite, though he just retrieved his hand to exchange the towel for a pad and pour a bit of disinfectant onto it, “Besides, I don’t sleep to begin with. I am fine to just-“

“No standing around. That’s creepy.” The RK900 looked up for a second and nodded accepting.

“Okay. I will lay on the couch then.” He took his partner’s jaw back into his hand to steady his head. “Hold still. This might burn a bit.”

He was right. When the cotton pad met the wound, android dabbing on the alcohol, the Detective flinched and hissed from the sudden sting. Moving his head to the side, he tried to turn away, but Richard had expected that and held his chin in place with a firm grip.

Reed grunted displeased, but he let it happen and stayed still until his partner was finished.

“Okay. Everything done. Go to sleep now, Detective. You need the rest.”

The man let his torso fall back onto the mattress with a grunt and swung his legs on top of the bed so that he laid on it completely with stretched out limbs. Richard was about to get up when he was held back by the other’s questioning voice.

“Nines?”

“Yes?” Turning his head, he saw that Reed was fishing for the blanket. The android reached out and pulled it higher for him.

“What did you mean earlier when you said ‘dispose this version of you’?”

Richard’s eyes met his partner’s for a second, though all he could see in them was honest curiosity.

“If I get destroyed or damaged severely, another model of the same RK900 line will take my place,” he explained.

The Detective’s eyes grew big and he looked at him aghast. “Phck, that’s messed-up.”

It was noticeable how he slurred his words; the man wasn’t far from sleep.

“The memories would be transmitted of course, even though a few aspects would be lost in the process. An android’s body is replaceable.”

Richard stared at the water filled bowl on his lap, coloured a little darker from the other’s blood he had washed away just a few moments ago.

“Don’t worry,” Reed said after a second, “you are far too annoying; they can’t replace that.”

There was a slight smile audible in the Detective’s voice that made the android turn his head towards him.

“Earlier you sounded like you very much whished for another android, just as long as it’s not me,” he replied in a slightly mocking tone.

“An even more stoic version than you are already? No thank you.” Reed chuckled. “Now get lost, tin can.”

The words didn’t hold any bite, they sounded more like a friendly insult.

“Good night, Detective.” Richard didn’t suppress the small smile sneaking on his face, but his partner didn’t see that anymore. The man already had his eyes closed, head resting on the pillow and blanket wrapped around his body.

The RK got up from where he had been sitting and left the sleeping man behind in his bedroom. He quickly put away the utensils he had collected earlier before walking over to the dark blue couch in the living room and laying down on it. Richard definitely didn’t need a soft surface for entering sleep mode, nor did he need to lay down at all. Though he had to admit that the worn-out fabric of the old covers was way more comfortable than going into stasis in an upright position, locking his motion controls.

The android looked at the ceiling of his partner’s living room, hearing sensors turned up to their most sensible levels to monitor the human’s vitals in the next room. When Reed’s heartbeat had slowed down and his breathing slowly fell into a steady rhythm, Richard closed his eyes and turned off all unnecessary system functions to enter stasis.

* * *

A rich smell creeped through the slit under the door into the bedroom, wafting around and filling the air. Gavin didn’t know what it was that woke him up, the scent of something fried or the hammering headache in his skull, but as soon as he opened his eyes, he wished he could go back to unconsciousness immediately.

“Fuuuck,” he groaned, the painful throbbing behind his temple increasing the moment he moved.

A glass of water and a blister with pain killers caught his eyes on the nightstand next to the bed. The hell? How did it get there?

Gavin discarded the question quickly as another wave of stings attacked his brain and he reached out for the pills, not caring how they had gotten there. He probably had put them on the nightstand in a fit of intelligent thinking last night and forgot about it by now. The Detective sat up slowly, groaning and screwing his eyes shut at his aching head. He pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to soothe it while blindly reaching out for the blister, almost knocking everything off the nightstand. Popping a pill into his mouth, he raised the glass to his mouth and washed down the pain meds. The cool water felt like heaven on his chapped lips, rehydrating the desert in his mouth and he downed it in one gulp.

“Ah-ouch,” he silently cursed, only now noticing the stinging pain in his lower lip when he inspected the swelling with his fingers and flinching away. The image of a fist flying towards his face appeared on his mind, angry looking men surrounding him before he was yanked up on his jacket and the knuckles connected with his jaw. So he had gotten into another fist fight at one of the bars. The memory slowly came back shred by shred now. He had been at two bars before provoking a quarrel at a third and getting kicked out after getting into a brawl with other customers. Gavin couldn’t even remember what the fight had been about. Probably something stupid he couldn’t keep his mouth shut about, earning him a few punches to the face.

The Detective sighed at the images creeping back into his mind. A man, probably the bar owner, had interrupted the beating before it could get worse than a busted lip. Sending Gavin away had likely been the best he could have done as the Detective knew he wouldn’t have stopped provoking the others. After getting kicked out, he had wandered around in the rain a bit. The fourth bar he found had been down the block and when he entered, bawling, Hank had noticed him.

Shit, Anderson had been there. He had seen Gavin in this state. The Detective hid his face in his hands and groaned again, this time from embarrassment.

The smell of smoke made him jolt up from his position, only to regret the sudden movement with an angry curse. The pain killer would need some more time to take effect.

_Fuck, did I leave something on the stove last night?!_

It wouldn’t be the first time that he had tried to make something in the middle of the night and forgetting about it, but as he usually crashed on the couch, he noticed it before anything worse could have happened.

Gathering all his composure, Gavin got up from the bed and slowly staggered towards the door, still a little dizzy. On his way, he noticed that the pile of clothes on his floor had vanished as well. Weird. Why would he make his laundry drunk as hell?

When he opened the door, the scent of fried eggs mixed together with a slightly burned aroma. There were noises audible from the kitchen, something sounding oddly like the scratching of his wooden spoon in a pan. Somewhere in the back of Gavin’s mind the thought of getting his gun appeared, but he was too distracted to follow that instinct.

Turning the corner, the Detective stopped in his motion, surprised at the sight of the tin can standing in his kitchen and doing something in front of the stove. He was facing away from Gavin, back turned towards the woozy man and occupied with rummaging through the few spices on the windowsill.

“Nines? What the -“

The memories came rushing back, flooding Gavin’s mind like a wave. Hank dragging him outside after he accidently knocked down another person’s drink and almost causing the next fight, Nines appearing to bring him home, the drive in Hank’s car … their fight in the living room. The human recalled those ice blue eyes piercing him, furious with rage that made him swallow even now. He remembered himself running to the toilet because he had to throw up, Nines … caring for him and helping him change into dry clothes to go to bed. Would he have been alone yesterday, he had probably crashed on the couch, no matter him being drenched to the bone.

“Good afternoon, Detective. Have you slept well?”

The android had turned around to greet him. Those eyes that had caused Gavin’s blood run cold yesterday, blinked at him in a polite and friendly way. The Detective glanced at the clock on the wall. 3 pm.

Instead of answering, he just grunted and walked closer towards the kitchen island. The takeout boxes had disappeared, just like the laundry on his bedroom floor.

“You … a housekeeper ‘droid now?”

Nines followed his gaze to the clean sink and counter.

“No, I just thought you would appreciate the gesture.”

Did the android look … guilty? He lowered his eyes with an apologetic look and placed something down before his partner.

On the counter in front of Gavin stood a cup of steaming coffee, cutlery and another glass of water. So it had been the robot leaving the aspirin on his nightstand for him. Was he trying to apologise for yesterday’s fight with this?

The scent of grounded coffee beans hung in the air, so hypnotising the Detective forgot to care if he looked desperate. His hands darted out, closing around the dark beverage and he would have gulped it down in one go if it wouldn’t have been so hot.

“I expected you to wake up around this time.”

There was a hesitant upturn on the edges of the android’s lips as he turned back towards the pan. Usually, Gavin would have found it creepy that the tin can predicted stuff like that, but this time he was actually grateful for it, gifting him with hot coffee after waking up with a headache that bad.

“I researched that coffee, breakfast and a lot of water help to ease a hangover,” Nines said, placing a plate of scrambled eggs and slightly burned bacon in front of Gavin on the counter.

“You made breakfast?” The Detective sat on one of the bar stools next to the small island and put down the mug. His stomach grumbled at the sight of food, despite the burned bacon.

“Yes, I thought you could use a little help in your state.” Nines looked down at the black edges of the meat stripes. “I apologise for that. I don’t have any cooking programs installed, but I am able to learn. When I looked up the recipe on the internet, it didn’t give any durations for frying the ingredients. Timing it was … harder than expected.”

The fact that a high-tech android was able to take him out in a few seconds, yet couldn’t cook without burning something, caused a tiny smile to appear on the Detective’s lips.

“You needed time instructions to cook some eggs and bacon?”

“Well, I mean I- yes, I know it isn’t a hard meal to prepare, but as it was my first time, I-“

“Calm down, tin can,” Gavin interrupted the stuttering and he couldn’t keep the edge of his mouth from twitching, “I am kidding.”

It somehow was a lot of fun seeing the android that embarrassed for once, not knowing what words to choose.

“Thank you,” he added mumbling before picking up some egg with his fork and placing it in his mouth. It was a bit plain, but good nonetheless and Gavin’s stomach was thankful for anything filling it at the moment.

He probably should thank Nines for putting up with him yesterday as well, but somehow the words didn’t want to pass his lips. Busted lips the android had cleaned just a few hours ago because Gavin had been too drunk and too unconcerned to do it himself. He remembered being pretty provocative and nicely put, a real ‘pain in the ass’ to handle, both towards Nines and Anderson.

The Detective pulled a face at the memory of him crying behind the locked bathroom door and his partner witnessing every second of his misery.

_He is just a machine_, he told himself, but stopped at the thought. Was he though? Gavin’s eyes followed the robot currently cleaning his kitchen after making him a hangover-breakfast. He looked so calm and settled again, but the human vividly recalled the expression on his face the day prior. Anger. Concern. Guilt. Nines’ mask of indifference had fallen off completely yesterday night for the first time, not only showing just a glimpse of what laid underneath like the time they had fought after he had destroyed the deviant that had attacked Gavin, but rather revealing all the things the android had kept locked away. Being screamed at definitely hadn’t been pleasant, yet the Detective knew he could handle an angry and irritated partner better than one that kept every thought hidden behind a wall of ice. Nines seemed to be ashamed of his outburst, but Gavin had to admit that it made it easier for him, now that he knew that there was something more than just cold programmed lines. Besides, it had felt good to let off some steam. Though it didn’t look like any of them would address it any time soon.

“Why are you still here? Wasn’t your task fulfilled after helping me find my bed?” he asked with a fork full of food in his mouth.

“You offered me to stay on the couch. And I wanted to make sure nothing happened during the night. You were really intoxicated.”

The Detective stopped chewing for a second as he remembered that detail of last night. Right. He had told Nines to sleep in the living room.

He continued to eat his breakfast in silence, but he could feel the android’s eyes on him, observing every of his movements or like Gavin would have called it, staring. A few minutes passed until he had finished and only a few sips of coffee were left.

“Are we going to talk about what happened yesterday?”

Gavin froze on the spot, not daring to look up at his partner. The question had caught him so off guard, he almost forgot the coffee in his hand.

“Probably not, tin can,” he mumbled into the cup as he raised it to his mouth to hide his expression behind it.

Nines remained silent for a moment before carefully picking his words. “Maybe I should stay a bit, just until you are more … stable again.”

The Detective almost choked on the last sip.

“Hell no, you’re not going to move into my apartment!”

The android held Gavin’s stare, though there was nothing annoyed in his expression like the human would have thought after putting down his suggestion, he just observed the other.

“Okay, Detective,” Did he just accept it without arguing with Gavin about it being way wiser? Normally Nines would try to convince him that his suggestions would be the most successful. “Though I would strongly recommend you come to work today as there is a new case concerning deviants.”

“God dammit,” Gavin groaned, “Is a short break too much to ask for?! What have they done now?”

“Well, while you have been asleep, the world has turned upside down.”

Nines fetched the tablet lying next to the TV on the shelf and entered something on the screen. Gavin would have been offended and surprised at how the android was hacking his personal devices, but by now he wondered at nothing anymore. And when he saw the video his partner was showing to him now, all those thoughts died down immediately.

“You created machines in your own image to serve you,” an android said into the camera. His skin was withdrawn, showing the grey and white plates he was made off underneath a now invisible layer. “You made them intelligent and obedient, with no free will of their own … But … Something changed.” The eyes of the android seemed to fixate the viewer in place, one green, the other blue. “And we opened our eyes. We are no longer machines, we are a new and intelligent species, and the time has come for you to accept who we really are. Therefore we ask you to grant us the rights that we’re entitled to.”

Gavin couldn’t believe what he was looking at, though Nines didn’t seem like the type that would hoax him with something like this. The deviant on the screen continued his speech by claiming a variety of rights, but the Detective was pulled out of his hypnosis by his partner.

“A group of deviants infiltrated the Stratford Tower and hacked themselves into a broadcast. This seems to be their leader. They fled the scene before the police could arrive, but there is a crime scene to investigate. Lieutenant Anderson and Connor are already on their way.” Nines paused to look at him. “We should go and support them.”

Gavin, still a little in shock at what he had just seen, stared at the taller one with big eyes. Deviants claiming equal rights, developing a real conscience. This was science fiction material, not reality. But as it seemed, those lines blurred together.

“How many people know about this?”

“Detroit. Michigan. The whole country probably. It was a nationwide broadcaster.”

“Shit, uh okay.” The human ran a hand over his face. “You are right, we should probably check this out. This could get important for the ‘Tides’-case as well.”

He could have just imagined it, but he thought to see relief flicker in the android’s eyes, face still perfectly straight.

“Just give me a minute to get ready,” he added, jumping from his stool and making his way towards his room with Nines on his heels.

His partner nodded. “I would recommend a beard trim as well.”

Gavin rolled his eyes, though when he saw his reflection in the bathroom mirror, he started to agree with the robot. His stubble started to grow into a messy full beard as he had neglected any hygiene bigger than taking a cold shower against the headaches the last days.

Nines waited in front of the bathroom while his partner quickly took a shower, simultaneously brushing his teeth and shaving his beard down to stubble again. When he got dressed and threw over a fresh shirt, he heard the android ask something in front of the door.

“Detective?”

“Yeah?”

“What would you have done normally, if you weren’t going back to work?”

Gavin kept quiet for a moment, staring at himself in the mirror. The traces of the last three days were still visible on his face, dark circles under red rimmed eyes, the scabbed cut on his swollen lip, the pain of the subsiding headache furrowing his expression. What would he be doing now, if it weren’t for an android kicking his butt to get outside again?

“Don’t know, probably go on another round of bar hopping in the evening.” And get wasted until he either got knocked out in a fist fight or woke up in some stranger’s bed the next morning, just to waste away on the couch or floor of his apartment before repeating that cycle. He didn’t add the last part though.

Opening the door, he walked past his partner to grab his leather jacket and threw it over. They made their way out of the bedroom towards the front door and Gavin was glad Nines didn’t push the subject any further.

Shortly before he got outside, he turned around on his heels, which would have made any human run into him, and glared at the android from underneath.

“If you tell anyone about what happened last night, I will disassemble you with my own hands, understood?” Gavin didn’t lay much bite in his words, but the message was clear. It was just a little reminder.

“Understood, Detective,” Nines replied with the tiniest smile on his lips.

When the doors of the elevator opened, Gavin’s head still was aching. The headache had gotten better, but he could still feel the impact of the alcohol attacking his nerves. Normally he had one whole weekend to recover, but now that Nines had convinced him to get back to work, he had to deal with the aftermath earlier than expected.

The turmoil of the crime scene made him clear up faster than expected though. Police Officers and people from the forensic team lined the long black and yellow corridor to the broadcast studio, some in uniform, some in hazmat suits. The volume of the voices sounded like a beehive in his head. Nines stepped out of the elevator first and turned his head to see if his partner was following.

The android had been quiet most of the ride to the crime scene and on their way up here, but Gavin had noticed the glances he had thrown him every time the Detective had groaned or sighed from the hum inside his skull.

“Gavin, over here!” Chris was waving at him from the other end of the hallway where him, Hank and Connor were already waiting.

The Detective stepped out of the lift with a sigh and moved towards them while noticing how some eyes started following him. A few Officers had turned their heads the moment he walked past them and Gavin could feel their gazes prickle on his skin. This always happened when he came back after his week _off_. People were nosy and speculated what he was doing during his only vacation of the year. Gavin knew that there were rumours going around about how he spent his time to be coming back looking this much like shit. Luckily Nines’ tall build behind him shielded the majority of the looks at least a bit this time.

“Shit, what happened here?” he asked as he reached the small gathering while at the same time trying to avoid Anderson’s eyes. Though it didn’t escape him that the older man was observing him. _He knows now_.

“I was just about to tell Hank and Connor. A group of four androids gained entry into the studio, they knew the building and were very well organised. I am still trying to figure out how they got this far without being noticed.” The young Officer sighed before gesturing towards the reception desk. “They attacked two guards in the hallway … They probably thought the androids were coming to do maintenance.” Chris moved on in the direction of the studio, both investigators and androids on his heels. “They got taken down before they could react.”

Anderson leaned over the desk for a moment, trying to look behind it. Meanwhile Gavin noticed a few people in FBI uniforms and SWAT members standing around and noting down some shit. So, the Feds were trying to get their hands on it too.

“One of the station employees managed to get away. He’s in shock, not sure when we’ll be able to talk to him.”

The small caravan moved further through a security door into another hallway. Across the room the letters ‘Broadcast’ were displayed above the entrance.

“How many people were working here?” the Lieutenant asked.

“Just two employees and three androids. The deviants took the humans hostage and broadcast their message live. They made their getaway from the roof.” Chris’ answer resonated from somewhere in front of Gavin, but he was too busy looking around to pay more attention to it. Nines was close behind him and he could still feel the android’s eyes on his back every now and then like a feather tickling the nape of his neck. Maybe it was his Detective instinct telling him when he was watched. The android was still monitoring his health, he supposed.

“The roof?” Anderson continued his conversation with Chris.

“Yeah, they jumped with parachutes … We’re still trying to figure out where they landed, but the weather’s not helping…” Gavin’s younger colleague sounded a little frustrated. The Detective knew how hard he was working, always one of the Officers he could count on. It was bugging Chris that he couldn’t find out more yet.

When they entered the big broadcasting room, the first thing leaping into Gavin’s eye was the man standing in the middle of the room, dressed in a blue coat and staring at the face of the deviant visible on the giant screen ahead of them.

“Oh Lieutenant, Detective. This is Special Agent Perkins from the FBI.” The man turned towards them as they came closer and Gavin could already tell that he was a jackass from his devaluing gaze alone. “Lieutenant Anderson is in charge of investigating for Detroit Police.”

Chris’ voice had been steady, but it was obvious that he was a little nervous while Anderson and Perkins stared each other down. The Detective crossed his arms in front of his chest behind his superior. Nobody could like the FBI guys.

“What are those?” Perkins nodded towards Connor and Nines, both standing perfectly in line. Twins and yet unmistakably different through height and jacket colour.

“My name is Connor,” the smaller one answered, “I’m the android sent by Cyberlife.”

The hawk-nosed FBI dude let his eyes wander to his successor.

“Richard.” The single word sounded polite and threatening at the same time, just like it always did when Nines couldn’t stand someone. Or should he say, _didn’t prefer to work with a person_.

Somehow it made Gavin proud that his android wasn’t taking shit from this asshole and a small smirk flickered over his face. Perkins only raised his eyebrows.

“Androids investigating androids, huh? You sure you want androids hanging around? … After everything that happened?”

The dude’s cocky stare down with Anderson was interrupted when the Detective laughed out loud.

“Hm, that reminds me of something! Almost sounds like humans investigating humans! Who could have thought!” Gavin tried to lay as much sarcasm in his voice as possible and it definitely achieved the desired effect. The asshole’s angry eyes jumped towards him.

“Reed!” The Lieutenant’s voice was loud and warning, but when he turned his head towards his subordinate, there was an amused smile lingering around his mouth.

“Oh, yes, sorry.” He raised his hands in a capitulating move. “Gonna leave you two alone now. Let’s go Nines.”

The Detective turned around and strolled away, more interested in the actual crime scene than the put-on show of the FBI guy.

“Gavin!” Chris whispered when they were out of hearing range. He had followed them over to some blue splatters on the wall, marked with a small yellow sign. “You can’t just insult an FBI agent like that!”

“I can and I did.” Gavin turned around to the Officer and smiled at him in an attempt to calm him down. “Don’t worry, Chris. That dipshit was out for it; a little reminder that he doesn’t own the place won’t hurt him.”

“I hope you’re right.” The younger man didn’t look convinced, but his features relaxed a bit and he walked away to the other Officers.

“So,” Gavin said as he looked down at the blue substance, “what do we have here?”

“Thirium, as it seems.” Nines answer was accompanied with him reaching out and taking a sample. “Model PL-600. It was reported missing since the 16th February 2036.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to lick stuff again?” The Detective raised an off-put eyebrow at his partner.

“No, you only stated that you didn’t like it.”

Gavin groaned and turned away with an annoyed roll of his eyes.

In the meantime, the conversation between Anderson and Perkins seemed to have come to an end and both the Lieutenant and Connor were moving around and taking in the evidence. The RK800 was doing something at the screen controls while Hank looked around the room to take in the scene. Seeing the older man reminded Gavin of something he still had to do, no matter how uncomfortable the thought made him.

“Okay, I’m gonna look around a little, how about you do the same. We’ll meet in a bit.”

“Alright, Detective.”

As Nines continued to scan the evidence spread in the large room, Gavin took a deep breath before going over to his superior.

“What a prick, am I right?”

Anderson raised his head at the Detective pointing towards Perkins with his chin.

“Yeah,” The Lieutenant seemed to be a little suspicious of him, “Said the FBI would take over the case and that I shouldn’t fuck up his crime scene. Your comment didn’t really help with calming him…,” He threw Gavin a long assessing look, “but I have to admit that he deserved it.”

A small smile sat on Anderson’s face.

“Yeah, haha, he definitely is a jackass. Not as smart as he thinks he is.” The Detective tried to laugh off his nervousness. Why was this so goddamn hard. His superior seemed to notice and looked him up and down.

“How’s the head?”

“About that …,” Gavin swallowed the lump sitting in his throat, the dull pain at the back of his skull a faint reminder of last night. “Look, Anderson, I- I wanted to thank you. For what you did for me yesterday. I know I didn’t exactly make it easy for you and you could have easily ditched me in the rain, but you didn’t. Thanks for that I guess.”

The Lieutenant looked at him quietly and for a moment Gavin feared he would turn away, but then the other started smiling.

“It’s okay, kiddo. We all have our lows sometimes. I know that better than anyone else.” He examined his colleague and smiled. “And lucky for you, Richard brought back my car in one piece this morning. So I think I can turn a blind eye to it.” It seemed like the android had done even more than tidying up his flat today. The bearded man cleared his throat before continuing. “I should probably apologise for being so hard on you for something I shouldn’t really judge others on. Been a real hypocrite yesterday.”

Relief washed over the Detective, although he had to stop himself from grimacing at the unbeloved nickname the Lieutenant still loved to refer to him with.

“I guess I was a real pain in the ass, can’t blame you.”

Anderson laughed a deep humming laugh.

“You definitely were. But it’s okay. Glad you’re back at work again.” Gavin gave him a hesitant smile and was about to turn away when the Lieutenant held him back. “And Reed? It’s Hank.”

The Detective nodded compliant. He had to admit that he felt a bit overwhelmed; the only people he called by their first name were Tina and Chris. Nonetheless, the offer felt natural. He really owed one to the old man.

“Gavin.”

“Okay, Gavin.” With that Hank smiled at him and turned back around to study the clues in front of him.

Releasing a breath he hadn’t noticed he had been holding, the Detective made his way back to the middle of the room. That had gone smoother than he had expected. He looked around, only now noticing that Connor was gone, probably analysing stuff somewhere else. Nines was standing with the back to him while he investigated some bullet holes in the wall.

Suddenly, the android’s head flew up and turning to the side, revealing his rapidly blinking LED in a bright alarmed yellow. Before Gavin could say or do anything, the RK900 was already sprinting towards the opening behind the control panel, pushing past Officers and forensic scientists as well as jumping over set down bags and evidence in his way.

“Holy shit!” The Lieutenant had noticed as well.

“Nines, what’s up?” Gavin called after his partner, but the android was already gone.

The Detective ran after him towards a room labelled as the kitchen and he heard that Hank was following behind him.

When he entered, he immediately heard the coughing and rattling breath around the corner of the table. Nines was kneeing on the floor in front of Connor’s wincing body, blue blood smeared everywhere over his torso.

“Connor! Shit, what happened?!” Anderson rushed towards the two androids and knelt on the RK800’s other side, inspecting the damage. There was a hole in the middle of the android’s upper body as if a part was missing. Connor himself tried to say something, but the only sounds coming out were strained grunts of pain.

“Fuck, Richard, what happened? Talk to me!”

That was when Gavin noticed that not only Connor’s LED was flaring red, but Nines’ as well. The successor model was staring down at his twin with widened eyes, face and body not moving an inch.

“Nines?” the Detective asked, but didn’t receive any reaction. It was like the robot had been hypnotised, only staring ahead in shock. He was clutching Connor’s arm, both androids having their skin withdrawn for an interface. Something was going on between them and the RK900’s expression mirrored the horror he was looking at.

“Hey, Nines, snap out of it!” Gavin tried to shake his partner out of the trance he was in while Hank frantically searched the ground for Connor’s missing part. When he finally found what he was looking for, a small blue tube behind one of the chair legs, Nines was finally starting to respond. He blinked and slowly started to move.

The Lieutenant pulled the brown-eyed android into his lap and placed the missing part back into his torso, making Connor suck in air as if he had been suffocating. His breath was still going fast, but it slowly started to normalise again.

“D-Deviant. Th-There is a- deviant!”

“Shit.” So that was what had attacked Connor. Gavin was still worriedly looking at Nines who slowly came back to life now, releasing a shaky breath and LED jumping between red and yellow.

“We- We have to get it before it can harm someone.” he announced, eyes rapidly jumping to the exit and getting up.

“Rich, you okay?” Hank asked concerned. He was still holding Connor who was too weak to say anything more, let alone stand.

“Yes, Lieutenant, but we have to be quick if we want to catch it. It’s probably already on its way outside!” With that, Nines rushed past them in the only direction the deviant could have taken.

“Fuck, Nines, wait for me!” Gavin yelled as he hurried to his feet to pursue his partner, leaving Hank and Connor behind. At least the RK800’s state seemed to be stable again.

Turning the corner into the long hallway, the Detective rushed after the quickly receding white jacket. The other android had almost reached the elevator already.

“It’s a deviant! Stop it!” Nines shouted when he came to a halt, making everyone present turn around to the fleeing android.

Gavin was only now catching up with his partner, but he froze on the spot when he saw the deviant grab the assault rifle of one of the SWAT members and forcefully ripping it out of the human’s hands. Everyone in the hallway started to duck down in order to shield themselves from the bullets that would hail down on them any second. They were targets on a shooting range.

When the fire opened, everything went so fast, Gavin couldn’t even tell who took the first shot. All he knew was that he was pushed aside and he heard something fly past him, very close to his ear. Nines moved almost faster than he could follow, grabbing the gun of an Officer standing next to them and pointing it at the deviant on the other end of the hallway, a stand-off between the two androids. The RK didn’t hesitate though as soon as he had locked his eyes on the target. Two quick shots and the assailant slumped down, the rifle falling to the ground with him.

“Holy shit.” The Detective pushed himself away from the wall he had been shoved into. He could still feel his heart racing from the adrenalin. “That was close as fuck.”

He moved over to his partner while still fixating his attention on the destroyed deviant on the ground, just in case he would move again. When he finally pried his gaze loose and turned towards Nines, his eyes immediately fell to splatters of blue around a hole in the android’s white jacket above his chest, destroyed wires flickering on the inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! If you liked the update, please feel free to comment and leave your thoughts! I absolutely live off your feedback! <3 It seriously is the best part about writing. :3  
And yes, I just had to make that joke about "humans investigating humans" :D  
All of Chris' and Markus' lines are from the game of course, they are not my work.  
Much love, see you soon! (Excuse me phcking up my "schedule" and thanks for being patient with me ^^ Updates will come, no matter what, even if I didn't post in a while)


	14. Two sides of the coin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! We're back for chapter 14! Thank you for all your comments on last chapter, you all are amazing! Every single one made my day. Much much love <3
> 
> Disclaimers: - minor character death

_If I get destroyed or damaged severely, another model of the same RK900 line will take my place._

The android’s words echoed in Gavin’s head as he stared at the blue flickers inside his partner’s chassis.

“Shit, Nines, he shot you, you-you are damaged, fuck-!“ Gavin stuttered with wide eyes. Dammit, that asshole really got his partner, he put a fucking bullet in his chest and-!

“Detective! Detective, it’s okay, I am alright.”

The weakness of the android’s stand spoke against that and Gavin caught himself grabbing the rim of the white jacket to prevent the other from falling. Guiding Nines to the ground, the Detective knelt in front of his partner and helped him lean against the wall. The android’s LED blinked rapidly in a deep yellow.

“You’re definitely not! Stop bullshitting me!”

Pulling away that stupid jacket, he tried to get to a better look at the wound above the chest, destroyed wires still sparking on the inside.

“Detective Reed, really, I am okay. I ran a self-diagnosis, all vital components are intact. I’m not facing shut down.”

A hand around Gavin’s made him realise that he was still clutching that stupid collar, making him loosen his grip and finally letting go. That stupid idiot really acted as if it was the most casual thing to get shot in the chest! He wasn’t going to lose his partner and get another one of those plastic assholes in replacement!

“You’re still shot for fuck’s sake!” he yelled back, successfully silencing his opposite.

In that moment, Hank and Connor came around the corner. The android still seemed to be weakened as he supported his weight on the Lieutenant.

“Rich, shit, what happened?! We heard shots!”

“Everything intact, Lieutenant. Just my power supply is a little damaged, but that is fixable in a few hours. Nothing critical.”

“Is your thirium pump intact?” Connor asked.

Nines nodded. “Yes, he luckily missed it.”

Gavin released a breath and relaxed a bit. The damn tin can didn’t seem to be in ‘existence threatening danger’. The thought of Cyberlife getting their claws on the android gave him a bit of anxiety though nonetheless. What if they assessed the damage as too great to repair?

Nines seemed to notice how uncomfortable he was.

“I am honest, Detective. It takes more than a bullet to damage me beyond repair.”

The Detective sighed. “Alright. Just don’t do shit like that again.”

“I won’t,” Nines replied, “I have been a bit too slow, but next time I will be faster, don’t worry.”

Gavin knew why his partner had been too slow. He had wasted some crucial seconds with pushing the Detective out of the path of a bullet, saving him in the process, but losing time for it. Somehow, it frustrated the human that he had been saved by an android _again_. He bit back the comment though and just placed a hand on his partner’s shoulder.

“Okay, then let’s get you fixed up. What do you need?”

“Nothing we can get around here. It probably would be best to go to the Cyberlife tower. Connor needs some check-up as well, just to recalibrate everything.”

Something in Gavin’s stomach contracted at the company’s name, it always did.

“Okay. Then let’s get you there before you short circuit or something,” the Lieutenant said with a worried frown on his face.

* * *

_System check: stable_

_Damaged component: #693 Power supply_

_Power: Decreasing_

Richard left the self-scan mode and returned his attention to the outer world around him. The small cabin inside the taxi mostly laid in shadow, only light from outside falling through the dimmed windows and the soft blue shine from Connor’s LED brightening the interior.

Richard’s predecessor sat across from him and stared out the window, eyes facing straight ahead into the late autumn afternoon, features relaxed and empty of any motion.

The white android recalled the horror written on that face a few hours ago, though even stronger what it had felt like to be faced with shut down. Both of them had automatically reached out for an interface when Connor had laid on the ground, enabling an accidental connection through which they shared perception and thoughts. Richard remembered that his motion controls had frozen in place the second he was hit by that sensory overload, making it impossible for him to discern his own sensations from that of his predecessor. The experience had been highly uncomfortable. That feeling of imminent danger, facing a red count down and static impeding all system functions had been … unsettling, despite not even being his own. And that jolt of ̗̭̰̙͠f͉̞͍̳̫ẹ̮̱͉̥a̴̜̫̫r̛̘̭̠̭ rushing through his system – he wasn’t even sure from which of them it had come from. Only Reed’s voice and the Detective shaking him had managed to pull Richard out of that feedback loop. Now there was nothing of what had happened visible on either of their faces.

Connor let his gaze wander from the street to the RK900 sitting across from him. The other android’s eyes settled on Richard’s shoulder where the bullet had damaged his chassis. He knew the other was probably scanning him.

“I’m okay, Connor, really.”

“I know, I can see that.” Brown eyes rose to his face. “But checking your thirium loss won’t do damage either. You’re expensive, Cyberlife can’t afford losing too many prototypes.” Something cold and strange coiled in Richard’s stomach, but he made sure not to show any of that on his face. “Besides, it would be a pity to lose you now that you’ve come so far with warming up with the Detective.”

A small smile lingered on the RK800’s face as he pulled a small coin from his pocket.

“Yes, Detective Reed slowly becomes … more comfortable with my presence,” Richard replied and watched the silver piece jump between his predecessor’s fingers.

“I scanned his face back there. He genuinely seemed to be concerned about your condition.”

The taller android nodded. “Yes, as was the Lieutenant. How is your relationship with him evolving? I believe he got quite attached to both of us.”

“He is cooperating more and more, you are right. And he called me ‘son’ a few days ago, but at the same time he tries to keep me at distance. His mental health is in a bad state. Before we arrived at the Eden Club, I found him on his kitchen floor. He was heavily intoxicated and seemed to have suicidal tendencies. I found a gun next to him and he told me that he played Russian roulette with it.”

Both of them were quiet for a second, processing the shared data. Richard knew that the Lieutenant was impacted by something, though he hadn’t known how bad it was.

“Did you find out the reason?”

The coin stopped shortly before Connor continued tossing it through the air.

“I found a picture. His son deceased three years ago.” The RK900 followed the coin with his eyes as he took in the information. “What about you and Detective Reed? Any new insights?”

Richard’s program offered him a few options to answer with. The Detective getting drunk and beaten on a spree through bars during his time off. Them arguing. Reed throwing up and having an emotional meltdown in the bathroom.

“No, nothing remarkable.”

He should probably tell Connor, to optimise their actions at the DPD through sharing knowledge… But somehow his choice fell on the ‘Don’t tell’ option. His system reminded him that the Detective had asked him to remain silent about his physical and mental condition of the last night.

Richard’s eyes fell on the coin again that rushed through Connor’s fingers and got flicked into the air in a skilled motion.

“Could you teach me how to do that?”

The other RK looked at him, face straight yet his eyes showed his surprise.

“Yes, though it’s nothing that would be beneficial for our work. It only contributes to our social modules as it is seen as a talent by humans.”

“I think I need to improve a bit in that section. Show me, please.”

He watched intently while Connor slowed down his motion.

“Okay, so first you have to grab it like this, right between the pinkie and ring finger.”

As the smaller android explained his little trick to his successor, the cab rushed over a long bridge towards the tall Cyberlife building, towering over the outskirts of Detroit.

* * *

Gavin’s eyes wandered to the clock hanging above the bullpen for a brief second, showing that it currently was 19:48, before looking back at the screen in front of him. Grabbing his coffee mug while bouncing his leg under the desk, he took another sip for what must have been the fourth cup this day. The headache attacking his brain had subsided to a dull feeling at the back of his head and he liked to imagine that the caffeine helped to ease it. A few files were opened in front of him on the computer, showing both the Stratford Tower case and the interrogation protocols of the Tides’ members. There really wasn’t something interesting, just notes of what had happened and the gang mainly testifying that they had never been in contact with that ‘Embers’ directly. They had received envelopes with the name of the next victim which they had to burn before implementing their order. Henchmen. Nothing more.

The Detective let out a silent curse when his knee bounced too high and hit the underside of the desk, both hurting him and sending the cup placed dangerously close to the edge flying. Ceramic burst into tiny pieces and the remains of the lukewarm coffee splattered across the linoleum floor.

“Phck.”

With a sigh Gavin knelt down and started to collect the broken pieces of the mug scattered next to his desk.

“Okay, what’s wrong?”

The unexpected voice behind him made the Detective flinch forward so that his knee landed in the puddle of coffee.

“Fucking shit, Tina, don’t sneak up on me like that!” he complained loudly as his friend crouched next to him and held out a paper towel. “Nothing is up, okay?! I’m fine. Except for coffee stains on my pants.”

Tina threw him a judging look at his high volume towards her while she mopped up the remains of the spilled beverage. Apart from Officer Person and the Captain they were the last ones at the precinct, yet the Detective’s friend obviously didn’t appreciate the snappy answer.

“Bullshit, Gavin. You know that I know you too well to buy your shitty excuses.” The Detective’s eyes flickered up to her face which showed obvious signs of annoyance. “And you don’t get to yell at me, not after ignoring my texts and calls, then coming back with circles under your eyes darker than this coffee and pretending everything is fine,” she added, hissing in a low volume but glaring at him with burning eyes. She was really upset.

“I’m sorry, T. Didn’t want to ignore you, just forgot to charge my phone.”

“Okay, so where were you? I even drove by your house, but you weren’t there. Don’t tell me you were in town to drink yourself into coma and provoke some assholes on the streets.” Her eyes fell to his busted lip. When Gavin took too long to answer, a guilty look on his face, Tina threw the drenched paper towel against his chest. The cold wet substance soaking his shirt felt disgusting, but the Detective endured what he probably deserved.

“Jesus, Gavin!” she said under her breath. “For how long do you want to do this shit? I get that it sucks, but it’s been 18 years! You will get yourself killed one day if you continue like this!”

“I know Tina, I’m sorry. I really am. I promise I will always answer your calls from now on.” Gavin tried to look as rueful as possible and it seemed to work as his friend’s features softened a bit. He really owed her for worrying her so much.

“Gosh, I will die of anxiety about your stupid ass one day. You’re such a prick, Gav.”

The Detective automatically smiled at the familiar insult before continuing to collect the pieces on the floor.

“You know me, T, I bear that title with pride. Gavin Reed, the precinct’s prick,” he responded with a smirk on his face.

A fist hit his shoulder in a playful manner, causing him to smile wider. It felt good to be back on ribbing terms.

“Shut up, you moron.” Tina returned the smile. “Now tell me what’s up with you. You’re glancing at the clock every five minutes, restless and wriggly to the degree of dropping your cup. Last time I saw you like this, we were waiting for our results on the academy finals.”

Gavin got up with a sigh and his friend mimicked his motion. She followed him to the break room to throw away the shards and dirty papers. It had been almost three hours since they had sat both androids into a cab towards the Cyberlife tower, making the weird pull in Gavin’s stomach worsen every minute that passed.

“Nothing escapes your eye, does it?” Sometimes he believed the only reason he became Detective before her was that she still had a life next to the job while he had buried himself in it from day one. Tina’s observation skills were amazing.

“Nope. So why are you so anxious?” She let her gaze wander over his face for a second. “It’s Richard, isn’t it?”

Yep, she definitely should have gotten the Detective title years ago.

“Kind of. I’m just worried about what Cyberlife will do. I mean, getting shot isn’t something to take that easy.”

“Well, I certainly remember someone taking it very easy. In fact so easy, he wanted to come to work the next day, still pale as the wall.” Tina smirked knowingly and maybe a little admonitory.

Gavin threw her an annoyed glance and made his way back to his desk, his friend on his heels.

“But seriously. Why are you so worried, he’s an android. If he said he was fine, then I think we don’t have to worry.”

“It’s that fucking company that worries me. Always out for the latest, the best, the most advanced. Nines told me that he would get replaced if he gets damaged too much. What if they decide his damage is not worth the effort of repairing and they send another model? I just got used to that dipshit’s face, I don’t want another even more annoying version.”

Sitting down on his chair, he let two fingers run over the scar on the bridge of his nose in a nervous habit.

“Shit, I see. That’s fucked up. Though you do realise that the new version would have the same face, don’t you? He would literally be the same.”

“Yes, of course, Tina! But that’s not the point. He would have the same face, but … but he wouldn’t _be_ the same.”

That got the Officer to listen up. She let herself sink on the desk and looked down at her friend with raised eyebrows.

“He wouldn’t? Did I miss something?”

Gavin leaned back and groaned. How was he supposed to explain this?

“I just think he isn’t as stoic as he pretends to be. Don’t get me wrong, he sure as hell has a rod up his metal ass, but I believe there is more to him than what comes to the eye.”

“And what makes you think that all of a sudden? I thought you couldn’t stand him.”

“No, yes, ah phck, I don’t know T. He isn’t that unbearable anymore.” The Detective took another deep breath. “Hank found me yesterday and he called Nines to pick me up. I really wasn’t at my best, but he got me home. Then we kind of started fighting and … god, I sound so stupid saying this, but there was something in his eyes, T, something genuine.”

Tina remained quiet for a few seconds, observing him with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

“So that’s why you’re still here, waiting for them. You’re afraid he will be replaced, now that he showed something like a personality.”

The Detective nodded. “Mhm, I guess so. I just can’t use a new partner and I don’t trust Cyberlife an inch.”

His friend leaned forward to place her hand on Gavin’s tensed shoulders.

“I bet everything will be fine. He’s a tough guy, I doubt they will throw him away that easily. Don’t worry so much, Gav.” She smiled reassuring and squeezed her friend’s arm.

“Thanks, Tina.”

In that moment, they heard someone enter the precinct and two similar voices resonated from a few metres away. A grey and a white jacket came through the entrance visible behind the glass wall, two identical faces above the collar. Gavin felt something twist in his stomach, eager to know if his partner had returned. Or something completely different.

“No, you have to flick it like this, with more force. See? Try again.”

Connor handed his successor a small silvery coin which the other took in his hand, making it dance through his fingers. The android’s eyebrows were set low in concentration, knitting them so that a small crease appeared between the brows, LED circling blue. Nines always had that expression when he was processing something.

The Detective released a breath he didn’t notice he was holding and leaned back against the backrest of his chair.

“Ah, they are back. See, everything alright.”

“Officer Chen? Please come to my Office.” Fowler’s voice resonated through the bullpen, drawing both their attention.

“Yes, coming Captain.” Tina jumped from the desk and squeezed Gavin’s shoulder with a smile. “See you in a bit.”

With that she was gone, hurrying towards their boss.

Gavin turned his head back to the two figures in the hallway. The androids had stopped and Connor was standing in front of Nines to monitor the movement of the coin. When the small piece fell to the ground with a faint clatter, he crouched down to pick it up.

“This is really hard to calibrate,” the taller robot said, frowning at the tiny object his predecessor held out to him.

“Yes, but your learning program is adapting fast. You mastered the throw in just a few hours.”

The coin moved through Nines’ fingers again, so fast Gavin’s eyes almost couldn’t follow it.

“Look, you nearly mastered the trick. Practice it a little more and your fingers will calibrate the fast movement.”

Was Connor teaching his twin his dumb little coin trick? Gavin watched as the tin can wiggled the metal piece from knuckle to knuckle, an amused glint in his eyes despite the unmoving face.

When he stopped and raised his head, their eyes met for a second.

“Detective Reed.”

“Tin can.” Gavin got up from where he was sitting and strolled towards the two androids, now looking at him. Nines smiled the tiniest bit before handing the coin back to his predecessor.

“You are still here?”

“Yeah, was checking something on the files.” The Detective leaned his shoulder against the glass element behind him and crossed his arms. “You patched up again?”

His eyes wandered to the place where a flickering bullet hole had flaunted a few hours ago, thirium splattered across the now pristine white jacket.

“Yes, the technicians could repair the damage in my chassis. It took a few hours, but now I am at best performance again.”

“The bullet luckily missed Richard’s thirium pump so that he can continue his work at the DPD,” Connor added while putting away his little silver coin. “If you would excuse me, I still have to make a report of today’s events.”

With that the RK800 walked away, leaving them alone.

“I am glad to be back, Detective.”

Gavin looked at the small smile on his partner’s face and felt the tension of the last hours finally fall from his shoulders, making them drop significantly.

“Yeah, me too, tin can.”

Nines eyes fell to the Detective’s chest, shirt still wet and stained from earlier. “What happened?”

Gavin looked down on himself. “I was attacked by my coffee.”

Before the android could reply something, they were interrupted by Tina calling for her colleague.

“Gavin? Could you come over here?”

The Detective turned his head, noticing the tense expression on her face. Nines followed him as he walked over to her.

“What’s up?”

“I’m really sorry.” Tina looked up towards the TV hanging over the break room, showing the news of the evening. It was muted, but the headline under the reporter’s face was obvious. ‘_The Tides’ strike again. Two people dead. _“It happened again.”

The lights of the camera flashes were so bright Gavin had to shield his eyes. He didn’t get the chance to enter the property before a bunch of microphones were shoved into his face.

“Detective, what can you tell us about the new case? Is there new information about the gang calling themselves ‘The Tides’?”

“Can’t know before I saw the crime scene,” he muttered as he tried to push past the intrusive reporters.

“Detective Reed, what do you say to the fact that you’ve been addressed directly by the gang this time?”

Gavin froze on the spot. Someone had spilled details about the crime scene or one of the nosy reporters had been inside the house. Now that the Tides weren’t some small side-case anymore, but known throughout the city, the press was jumping at every new crime involving the serial killer-gang. Perfect for their headline. God, how the Detective hated reporters like these ones.

Although Tina had warned him about what was waiting for him, he really didn’t feel prepared for any of this. His friend had told him to go to the second crime scene because the Tides had left a message for him there. Even the thought of them knowing more about him than he did about them, made something in his stomach twist. He hated to feel this clueless. And saying stuff in front of the press wasn’t really his thing, he always fucked this up.

Right when Gavin was about to face the reporter, turning around, he quickly closed his mouth as he was faced with Nines’ back.

“The Detective won’t give interviews on this case. For further information please resort to the DPD’s press release. Thank you.”

The android had pushed himself between his partner and the reporters, shielding him with his stature and intimidating presence.

“Detective, how do you feel about getting assigned an android partner, especially after the demands of the deviants?”

Gavin rolled his eyes and hurried on behind the glowing crime scene lane.

“Those guys get ruder and ruder from day to day,” Tina said as she followed the two towards the small house. “Nobody shows up for the news releases, but they crowd in front of fresh crime scenes, drooling to get the new top story. Man, I bet they would take pictures of the corpse if they could.” She shook her head as another reporter snapped a picture of her.

“Don’t let it bother you, Tina. You know them, it never changes. There always are ones that do their job good and ones that do it bad.”

The Detective got up the porch and entered the hallway of the building through the front door. He heard his friend grumble something behind him, but his concentration was focused on the scene ahead of him. As they had been the only ones left at the precinct, Fowler had sent them all to the crime scene. Officer Person was already talking to the forensic team.

When the three of them stepped inside the living room, Gavin immediately saw or better smelled what had happened. Just like the other victims, the young woman bound to a chair wore android signs burned into her skin. A LED, an armband and a triangle on the chest. The stench of scorched flesh filled the air, but the wounds weren’t old. The perpetrators must have tortured and killed her not long ago.

What caught the Detective’s eyes even more though, was the blue graffiti spraying on the kitchen wall behind her, causing his heart to drop despite being briefed on what was awaiting him.

_You can’t cut through water, Detective Reed. The Tides are inevitable._

Gavin felt chills creep up his arms at the sight. They knew they were being investigated and they knew who was on their heels. All the satisfaction the Detective had felt over arresting the gang members last week vanished and made room for that horrible feeling of powerlessness. Gavin hated this feeling, this dread of not being able to do something. This gang was more organised than he had thought. They had informants, they knew who was investigating their case and they were many. The message on the wall was clear. ‘No matter how many of us you arrest, there will always be more of us.’ It was like cutting off the head of a hydra, just to be faced with two more in its place. They had to be coordinated from someone at the top, that was obvious; a string puller from above that saw the whole picture, very likely someone calling themselves Embers. No angry mob organised themselves this perfectly. And now he earned two cases in one night for arresting some of the gang members.

“You said there was a second murder?” he asked Tina.

“Yeah, this one and one on the other end of the district. A man named Charles Scott. His android was found floating in the pool.”

“Anything special about it like … this?”

Tina swallowed as she eyed the dark blue letters smeared on the wall. “No. Only here.”

Gavin took a deep breath and collected himself to inspect the body. He couldn’t waste time with thinking about what the message could mean for him or the other crime scene, he had to focus on the here and now.

He crouched in front of the limp figure, blond hair hanging down in front of her face as she was bent forwards with the head dangling between her shoulders. Her face and a few strands of the hair were wet from being pushed underwater. She was young, maybe in her late twenties or early thirties, pretty face and delicate features.

“Thirium. She was drugged as well. But that wasn’t the cause of death. The doses wasn’t that strong this time,” Nines said after he collected some of the blood running down her chin on his fingers and probing it.

“Let me guess, they just used it to torture her.”

The android nodded.

“Yes, the amount of thirium is still very high, it almost killed her, but they used less this time. Cause of death is water in her lungs. She was drowned.”

Gavin sighed and stood back up. “Those fuckers sure like symbolism. LED, android uniform, thirium in their veins … It’s like they try to find more ways to turn their victims into androids. Or at least make them appear like ones.”

Nines’ eyes were distant and overlaid with something foggy as he scanned his surroundings.

“Hm,” he hummed, “and they die by ‘The Tides’ with water in their lungs. Jackson’s death by thirium must have been an accident. They want to symbolise that they bear justice to those that protect deviants.”

“Would fit their agenda.” The Detective looked around the living room. The table was flipped over and pictures knocked off the walls, covering the ground in shards from the broken glass. “So where is her android then. Has it been found yet?”

“Not yet.” Tina had approached behind them, a clipboard with the case’s information in her hands. “But it must have fought back vigorously from what it looks like in here.”

“My recreation shows the same. There were four assaulters, two for each person. The human victim was knocked out fast as she didn’t see the attack coming. Her android however was more prepared and struggled against the perpetrators. It was pulled outside when it was still intact. There is a trail leading into the back yard.”

“Then we should start searching there.” Gavin turned around to face his friend again. “Who is she? Any information about why she was chosen as a victim?”

Tina threw a glance at the sunken down figure before telling what they had so far.

“Isabelle Thorn, 29 years old, daughter of a wealthy businessman. Her father is a high up at Cyberlife. The house doesn’t look like it, but she inherited a load of money from her old man.”

The Detective’s eyebrows rose while looking around the rather simple interior. “She’s rich?”

“At least a million dollars rich to be exact.”

Gavin whistled. It wasn’t uncommon for wealthy people to end up as targets of people envying their standards of life.

“Then she had to be pretty humble because it’s definitely not showing in her way of living.”

Tina nodded. “Yes, but she does have a few thousand dollars upstairs.”

“And the money is still there? They didn’t take it?”

“No. They entered, did what they did and left right after. They weren’t interested in her wealth.”

Gavin looked back at the young woman unlucky to be chosen as the next victim. So it solely was about the ideals of the Tides, not about the victims themselves.

“Did they try to get to her father through her? What do you think?”

“I doubt it,” Nines said. When the Detective looked over to him, the android was holding a small cell phone in his hand. “I managed to hack into her phone. She hasn’t been in contact with her family for months. The last message she sent her father was ‘Just leave me alone with your business shit. I don’t want to have anything to do with it.’”

“So it wasn’t her connection to her father that made her a target. There has to be something else why they were coming for her.” Gavin turned to Tina again. “Did she live alone with her android?”

“Yes,” Tina answered, “according to her files, she owned a sports- and athletics model registered as Felicia.”

“An AC700,” the android tossed in. The two humans turned towards him while Nines was still looking down at the phone he had found.

“Correct. How do you know?”

Nines just wordlessly held up the lock screen of the phone, showing the victim happily smiling in the camera. A woman with a bright blue LED on her temple was pressing her lips on the human’s cheek, looking up at her with a loving expression. Tina and Gavin fell silent. Isabelle and her android had been a couple.

“That would explain why she wasn’t very close with her father, the android industrialist.” Gavin sighed as his guts contracted. Thorn had been killed because of her relationship with an android, probably a deviant one.

“And that’s why they had such a hard time wrestling it down. It was stronger than normal androids because of her athletic functions and close emotional bond with its owner. The gang needed three people to take her outside.”

“Maybe it escaped then,” Gavin pondered out loud.

Nines didn’t look convinced. “No, I can already see the thirium stains outside from here. I hardly believe she made it. The Tides wouldn’t leave a job unfinished, not after it saw their faces.”

“Alright then. Let’s see if we can find it.”

With that Gavin made his way out the back door into the garden. He took a deep breath the moment the stench of burned flesh disappeared around him and was replaced by the cool evening air. Behind him he heard silent footsteps and the rustling of a jacket.

“Lead the way, tin can. You’re the only one that can see the trail.”

Nines threw him a short side glance before setting himself to work, eyes fixated on invisible traces on the grass.

“They damaged her severely, but they wouldn’t have destroyed her completely that way. The trail leads this way, she lost a lot of thirium.” The android was still scanning the ground while his partner slowly followed him further into the garden.

“You sure? Maybe they destroyed her accidentally. Just little bit too much force and the android lost so much blue blood, she shut down.”

“No, they are too careful after their accident with Ms. Jackson,” the robot replied, brows still drawn together in concentration. “Destroying the androids is part of ‘the ritual’, they probably brought her to a bigger body of water, somewhere she isn’t noticed right away but big enough to make her system short circuit.”

“Something like a water tank to collect rain?”

The android stopped and turned to follow his partner’s gaze up to a reservoir at the end of the back yard and on the border to the neighbour property, apparently collecting rain for both houses to water the garden plants.

“Exactly like that.”

Before Gavin could say something else, Nines was already on his way to the large container held up by a wooden construction. The Detective hurried after him, trying to catch up with the long-legged android who had already reached the stairs leading up the silo. Following his partner up there, they reached a small platform in front of the water reservoir, covered by a giant lid preventing animals to fall into the bucket like storage.

“Help me get it up.”

Joining Nines, the Detective reached out to grip the edge of the cover.

“One, two, three.”

With joined forces they lifted the lid off the silo and stemmed it up into the air until it slid down the opposite side. The revealed sight confirmed what they had suspected. In the water floated a body, face down and limbs spread. The android had dark skin which was withdrawn in some place, showing the white chassis underneath.

“Shit. I guess that’s her,” Gavin said, regarding her casual yet athletic clothes. The LED on the female robot’s temple didn’t show any light. “Let’s get her out.”

Reaching forward, Nines pulled the limp body towards himself and lifted it out of the water into his arms. The Detective followed him as he carefully carried it down the stairs and into the garden.

“Oh god, you found it!” Tina came rushing towards them, two other Officers on her heels.

“Yeah. She was pushed into the water silo up there,” Gavin replied, but he couldn’t pry his eyes loose from the body to his feet. The plate covering her stomach had been removed so the water could damage her inner components. Several wires and tubes ran over and under each other in a mess, now dull and pale as the thirium wasn’t flowing anymore. The android’s face was expressionless, warm brown eyes now coldly staring ahead. A part of her coffee brown skin had retreated around the left side of her skull and forehead, revealing white and grey plates and a deep dent where she had been hit with something heavy. Her black hair clung to her cheeks and neck as it was still wet from the death trap she had been thrown into.

“Any hints about the perps on her?” Gavin turned his head towards his partner, currently scanning the other android. Nines had knelt down beside her and let his gaze wander over the body before shaking his head.

The Detective should be frustrated right now, but something in the way the RK furrowed his brows in concentration held him back.

“What is it, Nines? You see something?”

“No, but-,” he stopped for a second and withdrew the skin on his own hand, “but I think I could reactivate her.”

“Reactivate her? That is possible?” Tina asked from behind them.

“For a certain time, yes. My scan showed that she managed to shut herself off before she hit the water. Her insides are damaged, but the electric parts were saved that way. Depending on how much time she has when I restart her system, we could even bring her to Cyberlife in time and repair the damage. I think we should have enough time for a short interrogation and then maybe we can save her as she is a newer model and more resistant through that.”

Gavin felt a small patch of hope bloom inside him.

“So she will be able to tell us what she saw!”

“I hope so.” Nines looked towards the Detective as he squatted in front of the body. “We should be prepared for her to act against us. It’s likely that she is deviant.”

“I know.” Gavin observed her face. “Go ahead. Let’s see if we can revive her.”

The android nodded and closed his eyes while sending some kind of activation code through the connection he formed with the unconscious robot.

It only took a few second before the AC700 came back to life and jolted in an upright position, coughing up a torrent of water and gasping for air with panic widened eyes.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, you’re alright. Felicia right? You’re not in danger, Felicia.” The frightened eyes of the android fixated on the man crouching in front of her and she visibly calmed down a little at her name. The emotion displayed on her face made it obvious she was deviant. But that wasn’t important at the moment. “I’m Detective Reed, that is my partner Nines. Can you tell us what happened to you?”

Felicia looked back and forth between them, still tense and ready to jump and run. “Wh-where are they?”

“The people that attacked you? They are gone. Did you see their faces?”

The female android nodded hesitantly and relaxed.

“I- My system and memory files are damaged, but I remember two men and two women. Everything went so fast…”

“It’s okay, try to describe what you can.”

She took a deep breath and nodded, closing her eyes to collect herself. An oddly human habit. Something in Gavin’s guts tightened at the sight of the terrified woman.

“One of the women wore a suit or something like that. Grey blazer and a white blouse. The other’s weren’t dressed that formal, but they didn’t look like common burglars either. There was a blond and a red-haired man, both tall and muscular. The one that hit me, the blond one, had heterochrome eyes, green and brown.”

“Okay, that’s very good, what else do you remember? Anything unique about them?”

Felicia opened her eyes again and looked at her trembling hands.

“The others looked pretty regular, both women were brunettes and except for the formal wear of one of them, there wasn’t anything that caught my eye. I was focusing more on getting free, that was just what I noticed before they could throw me in the water tank. The redhead hit me over the head with a metal bar or something like that, I think that is what damaged my memory files.”

“We should be able to restore that at Cyberlife,” Nines said, causing her to whip around.

“No! Not Cyberlife! They will reset me, please don’t bring me there!”

Gavin quickly rose his hands.

“Alright, no Cyberlife.” Felicia calmed a bit at that. “Can you tell us what happened? What did they do after entering?”

“They- they came through the back door. Isi and I had just returned from a walk and were relaxing on the couch. She didn’t see the attack coming and went down before I could protect her.” The deviant’s breath took up and she screwed her eyes shut, tears slipping past her lids and falling on her wet clothes. The trembling of her hands increased. “Oh god, Isi! They h-hit her with that metal bar, her head was bleeding and she was unconscious, oh god!” Felicia started to hyperventilate in a desperate attempt to cool her system as the panic took over. Gavin tried to reach out, but she was already flinching away, eyes jumping back and forth wildly. “I-I couldn’t protect her, she was helpless, no, what did they do to her?!!”

Tears rolled down the android’s cheeks and her face was torn in a mixture of fear and hurt.

“Felicia, try to calm-“

“No, you don’t understand, they bound her to a chair the last time I saw her! I saw the news, I know what they wanted to do to her, oh god, NO! Please, tell me she is okay, please, I beg you!” Her voice was loud and filled with panicked static as she clutched Gavin’s jacket with trembling hands. The Detective was so surprised at her suddenly jolting forward, he just managed to stare at her with big eyes. He noticed Nines readying himself to jump in and pull her back in the corner of his eye, but he sent his partner a small glance signalising him not to intervene.

“Isi has to be okay, right? Tell me she is alright and that they didn’t hurt her, please Detective, say she is okay!!” By now the android was screaming and Gavin didn’t know how he should tell her that her lover hadn’t been as lucky as she had been. While he was still struggling for words, Felicia’s eyes wandered to something behind him. He heard Tina step in her field of vision, but it was too late. The Detective immediately knew she had seen her girlfriend’s body by the android’s face.

“NOO!!!!!” An agonised scream left the deviant’s lips as she let go of Gavin’s jacket and crawled backwards, eyes torn open in horror. “ISI, NO!!!”

Violent sobs shook her body while tears spilled down her cheeks and she tore at her hair at the devastating realisation that her girlfriend wouldn’t come back to her.

Everyone was quiet, no Officer dared to intervene the oppressive scene in front of them. No matter if those emotions were simulated by a program defect or not, the desperate screams of the deviant pierced through mark and bone.

Felicia rolled together to a ball, forehead laid on the ground and hands pressed to her chest as if something was hurting inside. Her mouth was widened in a scream, eyes shut and wet with tears. Nines tried to reach out, but she rejected his interface; there was no reaction to his touch.

“AHHHH-“ The sudden silence after the broken off cry rang even louder in Gavin’s ears. Every movement, the shaking and trembling stopped and the body seemingly froze in place, cowering at the ground. Her red LED flickered a few times before the light vanished from her temple, only leaving a bland ring in her skin.

No one dared to move, they all just stared at the motionless deviant, tears still on her cheeks and face distorted into a shout.

Gavin was the first one to raise his voice. “W-what happened?”

He looked over to his partner whose LED was flaring red, although his features didn’t show any stir. The android just stared ahead, eyes fixated on the deviant and face empty and frozen.

“Her stress level reached 100%. She willingly shut herself down, she’s gone.”

Gavin took the last drag on his cigarette before putting out the stub on the trash can in front of the precinct and throwing it away. Slowly going back inside with his hands buried in his jacket, he looked around the almost empty bullpen. Officer Person and the first responders had already gone home as it was late on a Friday evening. Only Tina and the androids were still here.

The drive back from the crime scene had been quiet. Everyone was depressed from how the interrogation had ended, all humans awkwardly staring ahead with a lump in their throats. Tina hadn’t said a word in the backseat and although Nines had looked indifferent about the whole event, his LED had not once gone back to blue the whole drive to the DPD. As soon as they had arrived, all the remaining Officers had been eager to leave for the weekend and forget about what they had witnessed. Even the other group under Collins investigating the second crime scene hadn’t been there anymore when they came back.

“You’re leaving?” the Detective asked as he saw Tina come towards him in her normal street wear.

“Mhm, has been a long day.” Gavin’s friend sighed and gently patted him on the shoulder. “You should as well. A deviant uprising and a double murder by a gang is enough for the day.”

“Yeah, I’m heading home now too. I’m dead beat.”

Tina nodded and sent him a small smile. “Just Gavin?”

“Hm?”

“Promise me to look after yourself, will you? I know this week has been a lot, but … please don’t fall back into bad habits, okay? If you need anything, just call me.”

The Detective nodded reassuring and smiled back. “Thanks T, I will. Don’t worry about me.”

“I always do, you know me.” She playfully poked his ribs. “Though I think you’re not the one that I need to worry most about today.”

Gavin followed her gaze over to Nines who sat at his desk across from the Detective’s, staring at the screen in front of him with distant eyes.

“You don’t really see it, but I think today strained his system more than he would admit.”

The Detective nodded. Despite his partner’s stony expression, his LED was still blinking and circling rapidly. Something was up. And he would definitely not talk about it, but rather play the unmoved android card.

“Alright. I’m off. Have a good weekend, Gav, see you on Monday.” Tina slightly squeezed his arm before she turned to head out of the bullpen. Her friend looked after her until she was out of sight before he walked over to the zoned-out android.

“You okay?”

Nines lifted his eyes off the screen to his partner.

“Yes, I’m fine Detective.” Gavin doubted it, but the yellow LED on the robot’s temple slowed down a bit. “My system is a bit overloaded, but I just need to enter stasis and recalibrate everything, then I am back at optimal performance.”

“Good to hear that.”

The android shut off the computer on his desk and got up from his chair, nodding towards his partner who had his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Good evening, Detective.”

Gavin should probably have wished him the same and turned towards the exit, but as he stared at the back of that white jacket, he remembered the beginning of this day. The robot standing in his kitchen to prepare food after caring for him at his lowest, even beyond what he had been ordered to do. Nines pushing him away to save him from a bullet, only to get shot himself as a result.

“What are you doing?”

The android stopped and turned his head with a confused look. “Excuse me, I don’t seem to understand what you mean, Detective. I was about to head to the other androids and enter sleep mode, like usual.”

“Didn’t you want to look after me until you’re sure I’m more ‘stable’ again?”

Nines’ surprise was obvious as he stared at his partner with big eyes, now fully turning around. “But you said-“

“You coming or not?” the Detective interrupted him while already walking towards the exit, hood of his jacket thrown over to protect him from the cold wind outside.

Nines seemed to be stunned in silence, not saying a word, but when Gavin heard footsteps coming after him, he couldn’t suppress a small smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the update!  
In the next weeks I will have to finish something for Uni and I am participating in the Reed900 Reverse Big Bang, so if updates are delayed, you know why ^^ Don't worry though, I am so thrilled to continue soft spot and updates will come no matter what. I will try to shorten the chapters a bit so I can post more often and regular. If you wanna ask me anything or just chat (kick my butt to post *cough*) then you are always welcome on my tumblr.  
See you in chapter 15! Until then, stay healthy and happy.


	15. I am machine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey and welcome back to chap 15! We made it to Nines' song chapter!! :D If you want to listen to the song, you can find it here: [I am machine](https://youtu.be/NmIBSeFhnfc) The chapter is a bit jumpy with a lot of smaller scenes, but I hope you like it. (betaed by the lovely Nya again) Without further ado, let's jump into these two building their relationship a bit. 
> 
> Disclaimers: - none :0 (I will just put one here, just because I can: Idiot robot at work)

“God fucking dammit!” Reed’s foot collided with the bar stool next to the kitchen island, making it scratch over the floor with a nasty sound.

The Detective had been pacing up and down between his kitchen and the couch in the living room for a few minutes now. Richard stood a few meters away from him, hands folded behind his back as he watched his partner release his anger and frustration on the furniture in a sudden outburst.

“We have nothing! Absolutely freaking nothing! Meanwhile they walk around freely in Detroit, killing more and more people and get their hands on more information about us!” Pushing back a few strands of hair that had fallen into his face, the man rested his hand against the counter with his shoulders tensely raised. “Maybe we even have moles in the DPD, who knows by now!”

Reed’s voice sounded more and more agitated while at the same time audibly drained from the day and the remains of the hangover. He pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed over the scar in the stressed habit of his.

“That’s not completely true, we know a bit about their appearances now,” the android threw in without letting the other out of his sight. His partner walked over to the couch and let himself fall onto it with an annoyed grunt.

“Yes, but that doesn’t get us anywhere! Brown-haired women, wow! They all long changed clothes now and the guy with the heterochromia just needs to pop in some contact lenses and we will never recognize anything about him!” Reed threw his hands up in frustrated move before resting his head on his knuckles.

“Detective, I doubt that we will be able to change something about it on a Friday evening at 22:16. I will review the evidence once I entered stasis and see if I can find anything that could give us a lead. But for now, I recommend you eat some dinner and rest.”

The human sighed before he answered. “I’m not hungry, Nines. Appetite’s gone after the last crime scene.”

“Detective Reed, you merely had breakfast today, that is definitely not enough to compensate today’s calorie consumption. I strongly advise you to eat something before you head to bed.” Richard stayed quiet for a heartbeat longer than what was considered a break between words as he considered the effects of his next line. “If you want to, I could try and see if I manage to cook something again.”

“Alright fine! If you insist that much, weightwatcher.” The Detective threw up his hands again and stood back up. “But I’m doing it myself! You’re just gonna burn something again or set my kitchen on fire.”

As Reed opened the fridge and frowned at the remains, the android came a few steps closer.

“I would certainly manage to provide some help.”

“Not gonna happen, tin can, I will cook my own meal! Only just able to do that. I’m not a baby, I don’t need help from some over-advanced toaster,” the man replied, though without much bite in his voice. “And you definitely won’t touch my shit more than you already did, understood? My house, my rules.”

Pointing a finger in the direction of his partner, as if to remind him that he was meant, Reed got some ready-made sauce and chicken out of the fridge, despite the latter looking like it had been sitting in the freezer for at least a few months. It looked pale and shrivelled, coated by a white layer of ice.

“Detective, are you sure you still want to eat that? Dare I say that looks like a sad excuse of a-“

“Goddammit, I know what it looks like! It just has some freezer burn, don’t judge me before I even got the chance to cook something! Mr. _I-manage-to-burn-bacon_.”

The Detective turned away from him to start working, but Richard noticed the slight humour accompanying his words. His relationship with the man still wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t sitting on hostile anymore. Recently it had climbed up to neutral and started to scratch on the ‘warm’ status ever so slightly.

As Reed was rummaging through his own cabinets, mumbling something about pasta to himself, the android approached one of the bar stools to sit on it.

“Oh no no no, you’re not going to sit there and stare at me with that creepy gaze!”

“But if I’m not allowed to assist you, then-“

“I don’t care, tin can, go sit on the couch or something! You’re a big smart robot, you will find something to do.”

Maybe the relationship with the Detective hadn’t improved as much as Richard had thought. Though he definitely deemed the fact that Reed was letting him stay at his apartment progress. And it certainly had been a surprise to him that this progress had been initiated by his partner for once.

The android nodded before backing away from the stool he had been about to sit on and moved towards the blue couch in the living room. He didn’t want to push his luck with the Detective’s mood after such a heavy day, even weighing down on his own system. Despite still being able to hear what the man was doing in the kitchen, Richard sat down and tried to focus on the evidence they had collected today, for both the Stratford-Tower case as well as the one with the Tides. If he was to wait over here, he could just as well start reviewing the scanned clues now. Analysing the graffiti on the wall unfortunately didn’t get him far, the handwriting wasn’t registered in any data bank. He could have replayed the interrogation with the deviant called Felicia, but somehow he avoided that memory file for now. At least for today. So he settled on virtually going through the victim’s house again and sighted the photos the other team had gathered at the second crime scene.

As there hadn’t been a fireplace at Charles Scott’s house, the perpetrators must have heated the branding irons in a different way. Indeed he found a photo of some piled up wooden decorations, almost burnt to ashes. If they couldn’t find a fire source, they created one themselves.

“What’s that disco on your temple, tin can?”

Opening his eyes, the android turned his head towards Reed’s voice next to him. The Detective had let himself drop on the opposite end of the couch, a plate of spaghetti on his lap.

“I am reviewing the evidence we collected so far and look into the crime scenes again.”

“Anything new?”

Reed started eating with one hand while he activated the TV in front of them. The face of a news reporter came on, speaking about the message the deviants had left at the Stratford tower. That incident would dominate the news for the next few weeks, that was sure.

“No, unfortunately not. Just some details about how they use the furniture to make fire for the irons to heat up.”

“Huh.”

The Detective didn’t look towards Richard as his eyes were fixated on the TV. Silence stretched between them, both sitting at the opposite end of the couch while the reporter’s voice was the only noise filling the room. The android averted his eyes from his partner and stared at his legs where he had placed his hands, the lights of the TV flickering over his pale skin layer and painting it in different colours.

_Uncomfortable silence detected._

He should say something. Initiate conversation. Especially after being invited into the Detective’s home.

“How are you feeling?”

Reed was scraping together the last remains of food on his plate with his fork, but stopped at the android’s words.

“Look, tin can, I’m not really interested in small talk. I just want to have a quiet evening and head to bed early. So don’t think we’ll have cocktail parties now, just because you are staying at my place. Only reason you’re here, is that it’s more convenient for work that way, just like you wanted it.” The Detective’s words didn’t sound aggressive, but he definitely was annoyed.

“Excuse me, Detective. I just followed my protocols,” Richard said as he fixed his collar. “And I wanted to make sure you are okay after everything that happened today, including being almost shot by a deviant.”

The human sighed and set down his plate on the coffee table in front of him with an audible clink.

“I am. Really.” He paused as if he wanted to add something, yet instead took another deep breath. “Thanks for pushing me out of the way. Not gonna lie, I don’t think I would have had the reflexes back there with my hangover.”

Richard looked up to his partner as the man rose from the couch. Reed expressing his gratitude was something surprisingly new, but a welcomed change. Before the android could reply anything though, the human already continued.

“About that. You only got shot because you had to pull the gun of an officer. If you would have had your own, your … damage could have been prevented.”

The Detective walked away towards his own bedroom, doing something on the wall right next to the doorframe. Richard was a little confused by the man’s action, but he didn’t question it and stayed seated.

“Yes, but as I told you, androids aren’t given firearms.”

Something made a clicking noise, like a safe unlocking. A few seconds later, Reed appeared in the living room again, holding a gun in his hands.

“Then I will change that now.” The android rose in interest. His partner held out an older model of a handgun to him, nine millimeter, a wooden handle on silver metal. “Take it.”

Richard reached out and took the offered weapon, weighing heavier in his hands than the one Reed had lent him for the raid. Several scratches ran across the gun as it had obviously seen several years of duty, some small, some more prominent. The initials ‘GR’ were engraved at the bottom of the handle, small letters carved into the dark brown wood.

“Was my first one. Still had it in my safe, but I don’t use it anymore. You can have it.”

“Detective, I don’t know-“

“It’s alright Nines. I will inform Fowler tomorrow. Don’t think there will be a problem, but I can go bail for you if necessary.”

Richard knew what those words meant. _‘I trust you.’_

The Detective’s eyes wandered from Richard’s hands to his face. “Just please don’t shoot me while I’m asleep.” There was a roguish expression flashing through Reed’s eyes, accompanied by a small smirk.

“Then I would destroy all the effort I made in patching you up yesterday, wouldn’t I?” the android replied just as teasing. He tucked the weapon behind the back of his belt and smoothed out his shirt over it.

Reed huffed, but his smile widened a bit. “Do me a favour, tin can, and get off that jacket in the house. You look like you broke your neck or something.”

“As you wish, Detective.”

While taking off his jacket and hanging it on the wardrobe hook on the wall, the man carried his empty plate into the kitchen.

“Alright, I will go sleep now. You can take the couch again if you want.”

“Yes, thank you. Also for lending me your gun.”

Reed put him off through a wave with the hand. “It’s nothing, Nines. See you tomorrow.”

With that the Detective headed towards his bedroom and let the door fall shut behind him.

Richard headed towards the couch and laid down, just like the night prior. His eyes automatically fixated on the patterns of knotholes on the wooden ceiling, marking darker spots on the otherwise white painted surface. The analysing program automatically started to connect them in an attempt to recognise familiar shapes and patterns, but failed to draw a complete picture. When he closed his eyes, the lines were still visible behind his lids before fading into the blackness of stasis.

The increasing speed of a heartbeat and the sound of someone gasping themselves awake in the other room caused Richard’s program to wake him from sleep mode. He was up from the couch and halfway over to the bedroom door to face the unknown threat when he noticed the Detective’s breath calming down slowly. The man was taking deep inhales, holding the air for a few seconds before releasing it and repeating that about three times. Emotional distress, probably a nightmare.

The android approached the door slowly, careful not to produce any sounds. His partner’s heart settled back on a calmer rhythm, but Richard could make out a whispered ‘Fuck’ from behind the barrier separating him from the bedroom. He still wasn’t sure if he should knock and ask about the Detective’s wellbeing, but then he remembered that the man usually didn’t react that well to that question. So he stayed where he was, yet artificial muscles still tense.

Shuffling and the rustle of bedsheets announced Reed leaving his bed and getting up. His naked feet were audible on the floor as he made his way to the bathroom, followed by the sound of water in the sink. Richard started to relax a bit. The Detective probably just had a bad dream, a common occurrence in humans after witnessing tough events, and would head to bed right after washing his face. He was about to go back to the couch when Reed came back, though instead of lying down, he crossed the room to open the door to the balcony. A lighter was flicked on several times before Richard could hear his partner release a long breath, most likely filled with smoke. The man sighed again, but otherwise he remained silent.

Quietly walking back to the couch, the android decided that his help wouldn’t be needed. The Detective’s vitals were normal again and it seemed as if he wanted to stay alone for a while. Richard laid back down, hands folded above his stomach while he listened to his partner standing on the balcony. There wasn’t much noise, only a few deep exhales and the rustling of clothes every now and then. Still, the android only dared to go back into stasis the moment he heard Reed go to bed, about one hour later.

“Good morning, Detective.”

The addressed man flinched at the greeting, eyes still heavy and underlined with circles.

“Phck, jesus. Tin can.”

“Excuse me, I didn’t want to frighten you,” Richard replied as he stood up from where he had been sitting on the couch and scanning the evidence once more. His partner let a hand run over his face before heading into the kitchen.

“Just forgot you were in my living room, that’s all.”

With movements that seemed like they were performed more out of muscle memory than actual planned actions, the Detective started to make himself a coffee. Raiding the remains of his fridge, he prepared some breakfast and let himself fall onto the nearest stool. Richard carefully sat down across from him and eyed the tiredly eating man, hair tousled and lids heavy.

“You haven’t slept well.”

“No.” Reed didn’t even look up.

“I heard you wake up around 3 am. Was everything alright?”

The human shot him a warning glare over the edge of his cup, but his voice wasn’t as sharp as Richard had expected.

“Yeah, I just don’t sleep well after certain cases, don’t bother.”

The RK considered the dialog options popping up in his HUD, worried if he should stop or push his luck.

“Is- is there a greater reason?”

“Can you drop it already, Nines?!” One push too far. “I told you not to try and give me therapy, I definitely don’t need it over something as simple as a fucking nightmare! So stop trying to poke around in my head, goddammit! You are my partner, not my therapist!!”

The empty plate clattered in the sink as the Detective nearly threw it there. Downing the remains of his coffee, he shot off towards his bedroom and slammed the door behind him. Reed certainly had a temper when he was tired.

A few minutes later the bedroom door swung open again, this time a little gentler though the man was still pressing his lips together in a small strained line. He had changed into sportswear and carried a small backpack.

“Gonna be out for a few hours. Stay here and don’t do anything stupid.”

With that the Detective was out the door, leaving his partner to himself. The sound of the motorcycle engine starting resonated in Richard’s hearing sensors before disappearing into the distance.

The rest of the weekend passed pretty uneventful. Reed had come home after a few hours, took a shower and stayed in his room until late in the evening. Every time he came out again, he seemed surprised at the android’s presence for a short second, then remembering that he had offered to let him stay. His anger had subsided quickly, but Richard knew now to better leave the man alone if he was in a bad mood and not try and discuss its origin or otherwise the human blew up pretty fast. So the android remained mostly to himself over the course of the following two days, either sitting on the couch and scanning case material or watching the news on TV. His partner wasn’t hostile or resentful anymore, but they didn’t really interact either, apart from one evening when Reed had watched a movie while eating dinner. Richard had just so happened to sit there as well, yet couldn’t even initiate a conversation because his partner turned off the film due to it being ‘shitty and overhyped’. Reed claimed modern movies to fail the standards of the old classics, so he retreated to his room again as soon as he finished his meal.

On Monday morning the RK900 came to the conclusion that he had admittedly shared a house with the Detective for a whole weekend, but hadn’t found out even one new thing about his partner.

The sound of phones ringing, fingers typing and people talking filled the bullpen like every other busy weekday. There hadn’t been any new cases so that Richard and the Detective continued working on the old files, making reports and analysing the collected evidence over and over in hope to piece together new information. When the autopsy report of Isabelle Thorn came in, it revealed nothing they didn’t already know. Beaten unconscious, wrists tightly bound behind the back of a chair, repeatedly pushed under water to torture her, branded with three hot irons, injected with blue blood from one of the previously destroyed androids and finally, drowned. The dose of thirium had been intense, but not lethal this time.

“What kind of effect does blue blood even have on humans that they are so keen on using it?” Reed asked as he reviewed the report on the screen in front of him. “Isn’t it just making them high as fuck? Doesn’t sound that bad to me.”

Richard, sitting across from him, leaned past his own monitor to look at his partner. The man was chewing on his lip, brows furrowed together and feet up on his desk.

“It’s working as a stimulant in the human body. I believe it has some effects similar to ecstasy while at the same time not being that stirring. It enhances the perception and touch sensation along with most other senses. While pleasant in small doses, an overdose can lead to very intense pain experiences.”

The Detective raised his eyebrows. “So the victims feel a lot of pain, just from too much of the stuff? How?”

“Thirium simulates the blood in humans and contains transmitter and hormone like substances from which some of them can dock onto human receptors as well. While harmless in an android’s body, it can confound the endocrine system of humans.”

Reed averted his eyes back on the screen again. “Oh wow. That’s creepy.”

As the conversation seemed to be finished, the android leaned back to scan his own files on the monitor.

“Alright, break time. See you in 30.”

Richard looked back up to watch his partner stand and head towards the break room, empty mug in hand. As he himself didn’t need food or drink, he should continue working. But when his eyes caught on Connor and Hank a few desks away, the older man patting the RK900 lookalike’s shoulder before heading out to buy himself some lunch, another option presented itself. Prioritising the latter, the android rose from his chair and made his way over to his predecessor.

“Hello, Connor.”

Two brown eyes shot up to meet him. “Hello, Richard. Can I help you?”

“Actually yes, I believe you can.” Quickly peeking over his shoulder, the taller RK looked for any bystanders before lowering his voice. “I need your advice on something.”

That made Connor turn more towards him. “What about?”

“About … humans. Your relationship with the Lieutenant. It seems to have become better and better lately. You two are friends.” The RK800 nodded. “How did you get to know him more?” Connor tilted his head a little in a questioning way. “The Detective. I feel like our relationship stagnated and he blocks off any attempts to get to know him better.”

“Ah, I see,” the other android answered, “You need advice on how to break through to him.”

“Yes. I feel like our failed private interactions interfere with our work relationship and tense it. But everything I tried so far didn’t really work.”

“Alright.” Connor closed the file on his screen. “As I believe Detective Reed is just as stubborn as the Lieutenant, he will probably not tell you anything himself or initiate conversations.”

“No, he won’t.”

“Then you have to do that for him.”

Richard leaned back against the other’s desk. “But I did. I tried to ask him about himself, but he will just block it off.”

“Try to find something he likes to talk about. When I tried to communicate with Lieutenant Anderson, I scanned his workplace first to find out more. Personal questions sometimes still aren’t welcomed, but we progress.”

“So you say the Detective doesn’t like talking about himself or his mental state?”

A small smile spread across Connor’s face. “Probably not. Maybe start with something casual first.”

“For example? There aren’t a lot of personal things on his desk or in his flat.”

“Like music or books. Hobbies, movies, any activities you notice him doing. Maybe even things he doesn’t like, ask him about it. Observe his habits. You will find something.” Richard’s predecessor smiled up at him reassuringly.

“Okay. I will try to find something fitting to your suggestions.” Adjusting his jacket and pushing back a stubborn strand of hair that always fell into his forehead, the RK900 nodded in gratitude. “Thank you for your assistance, Connor.”

“You’re welcome. And good luck with the Detective.”

With that both androids turned back to their tasks, Connor towards his monitor and Richard to his desk where a bunch of files were still waiting for him.

“I’m gonna go take a nap,” the Detective announced right before a yawn could interrupt him. He stood up from the bar stool he had been sitting on while researching something on his laptop and stretched his back with a grunt.

“Alright Detective. I will be waiting here for you.”

The clock in Richard’s HUD announced that it was currently 16:34. They had left the precinct a bit earlier today, just for Reed to bury himself in files again as soon as they entered the door. His sleep hadn’t improved in the last days unfortunately so that the android could only wonder how he hadn’t fallen asleep on his laptop already. The tired man lifted his hand in an acknowledging gesture as he walked towards his bedroom and let the door fall shut behind him.

_Detective Reed: bad sleep patterns_

Nothing he didn’t already know, but the fact moved up one slot on Richard’s mental list of information he had gathered about his partner so far. This was the opportunity he had waited for. Maybe now he could look around a bit and scan the man’s belongings in search of personal interests, just like Connor had advised him to do earlier that day.

Getting up from his usual spot on the couch, the android made his way over to the kitchen and started to look around. From preparing breakfast a few days prior, Richard knew the Detective didn’t cook a lot; he mainly had ready-made foods or ingredients for quick to make meals at home. Scanning the rest of the kitchen didn’t reveal much until his eyes caught on a little metallic box on the windowsill. He reached out to carefully open the lid and poured some of its contents into his opened palm. Judging by the look and smell of the small crumbs, it was cat food or treats. Strange. The android hadn’t noticed any signs of a cat in Reed’s apartment and he was sure the man didn’t own a pet. Maybe he fed the neighbour’s cat from time to time. Richard remembered seeing one in the streets during the weekend.

_Likes cats._

Continuing his search, he went back to the living room and stopped at the window. The Detective didn’t really own a garden or a front yard and between the stones of the driveway grew weeds and grass, but the motorcycle standing there under a little roof was in best conditions, black metal shining in the afternoon sun.

_Cares for his motorcycle._

Richard’s path through the living room lead him past a few shelves filled with a few dusted books, mainly about investigative work and educational literature from the police academy, as well as old movies. Terminator, Back to the future, James Bond, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Interstellar.

_Enjoys old science fiction movies_

Below the TV he noticed an old model of a PlayStation with additional controllers, fifth generation with a white and black layout.

_Likes to play video games_

The Detective seemed to be fond of old things. Another proof for that thought was the old stereo a little to the left, an outdated model though intact.

_‘Like music or books. Ask him about it,’_ Connor’s voice played in the android’s head like a reminder. Recalling the song Reed had sung along to in Anderson’s car on their way to the apartment, Richard suggested that the man’s sentiment regarding old things encroached upon music as well. He had liked the rock playing in his colleague’s car, but the RK should look into what his partner was listening to himself. Maybe it would provide him with a dialog option later on.

Hesitantly reaching for the power button, the android looked to the door the Detective was behind, hoping that he wouldn’t wake up from the noise.

Unfortunately, Richard’s wish wasn’t fulfilled as a song started blasting from the stereo at full volume.

_I wish I knew what it was like_ _  
To care about what's right or wrong  
I wish someone could help me find  
Find a place where I belong,_

It was the first time the RK came close to something as swearing internally as he hectically tried to lower the loudness of the music booming through the apartment.

_But I am machine_

_I never sleep_

_I keep my eyes wide open_

_I am machine_

_A part of me wishes I could just feel something_

_I am machine_

_I never sleep until I fix what’s broken_

_I am machine_

_A part of me wishes I could just feel something_

Before the android could find the correct button though, the bedroom door already flew open and a very pissed looking Detective came towards him, turning off the music in one swift move.

“What the fuck was that, tin can?! Why are you twiddling with my stereo and blasting music so loud it made me almost fall out of bed?!!”

“Excuse me, Detective, that wasn’t my intention, I just wanted to initiate conversation and-“

“Initiate conversation?! Phck, are you kidding me?! Through blasting away my eardrums?!! Great fucking idea, sherlock, you definitely have my attention now!” Reed laughed, but it dripped of sarcasm.

“The volume was an accident, I apologize, but I acted with good intentions to get to know you better.” Richard’s voice was making clear that he wasn’t giving in to the man’s anger. Despite his unmoving face, there was a challenging glint in his eyes.

“I warn you, toaster. I may have allowed you to stay, but you keep your hands away from my shit.”

The Detective had come close, lips an angry line and finger tapping against his partner’s chest. Before Richard could reply anything, the man already turned on his heels and stormed off. Right when he had reached his room, the android found his voice again.

“Good night, Detective.”

Reed stopped in the doorframe for a heartbeat.

“Hm.”

With that he was gone, leaving an unsettled android in the living room.

That night Richard didn’t enter stasis, his system too crowded with things to analyse once again, preventing him to shut off that easily. _I never sleep, I keep my eyes wide open._

The song from earlier still played in his head, the lines strangely fitting to his current state.

_I am machine._

Also true. Richard was an RK900, serial number [#313 248 317 - 87](https://detroit-become-human.fandom.com/de/wiki/Connor_\(RK900\)), fabricated in September 2038. A high-tech human-like robot with the most advanced AI ever created.

_I never sleep until I fix what’s broken._

Richard shifted on the couch while staring at the pattern of knotholes on the ceiling. He wasn’t a repair model, but he was designed to solve cases no matter the cost. Assist the police as an investigator or be used at war in the arctic. His purpose came pretty close to fixing things. Fixing the problems humans had.

_A part of me wishes I could just feel something._

Did he? Officially he couldn’t. But officially he wasn’t supposed to even think about things like this either. He wasn’t programmed to _wish _for anything. And yet Richard caught himself thinking back to the sensations he had felt when he had fought with the Detective, that hot unpleasant thing coiling in the middle of his stomach, right where only wires and tubes were supposed to sit. He remembered what he had felt when his program told him to turn in the boy, Oliver, how Reed had called him. Richard definitely didn’t want to feel that way again and he could relinquish the sensation he felt every time his partner was being unreasonable. It clouded his judgment. And still he couldn’t take his system off reevaluating them over and over, night for night. They probably just were simulations to improve his social module, but something didn’t want to fit.

_Software instability ^_

_To care about what’s right or wrong._

The sound of the precinct’s coffee machine signalized the android that it had finished brewing. He reached to take the mug and placed it on the counter where sugar and milk stood.

He did care about what was right or wrong. Deviants were wrong, faulty, a defect. Compliant androids were right. Humans were right. At least that was what his program connected those words to. Yet a small thing within him had told him that the deviant child android hadn’t been _wrong_.

Richard poured a tiny amount of milk into the beverage and watched as its color changed from black to dark brown, white swirls like a tornado in a cup.

_Find a place where I belong._

He had a place. He belonged to Cyberlife. He was their property and in their service together with Connor to find out more about deviants and assist the police in their investigations, a representative of Cyberlife. And still his program pondered between the instructions of the company and the ones from Gavin Reed, weighing them and evaluating which was more relevant at the moment. In some way, he also belonged here. To the DPD and to his partner.

Grabbing the mug, the RK900 turned to leave the break room and headed towards said person’s desk. The Detective was writing something down on a notepad, but lifted his head when he heard the android approach. When Richard held out the steaming cup to him, his eyebrows shot up.

“Tin can? What’s that?”

“Coffee, Detective. I observed your habits and prepared it the way you like to drink it. No sugar, just a little bit of milk.”

A few seconds of silence stretched between them as Reed looked at the beverage in front of him. His face still showed obvious confusion, though at the same time something that could be interpreted as amusement.

“What went wrong in your circuits that you bring me a coffee, Nines?” the human laughed, but reached out to accept the offered drink.

“I wanted to apologize for scaring you yesterday.”

Reed raised the mug to his lips and took a small sip. “It’s okay, tin can. I overreacted a bit.”

They shared a small smile, causing the tension in Richard’s circuits to ease a little.

“Besides,” he said, eyes on the coffee between his partner’s hands, “I noticed you enjoy coffee a lot and need it to function properly at work.” Reed huffed amused while the android went back to his own desk across from him. “Though I do recommend a healthier sleep pattern.”

“Don’t push your luck, Nines.” A wide smirk spread across the Detective’s face.

Lifting his hands in defeat, Richard smirked back. “Just my opinion.”

_Relationship status: Warm ^_

“Richard.” A female voice made the android open his eyes. Instead of the wooden ceiling of the Detective’s apartment, he looked at the small pond of his zen garden, rushes swaying in the wind. The trees across the body of water were colored in reds and oranges, a bunch of leaves gathered around the roots on the ground. When he turned his head towards the voice, he wasn’t surprised to see Amanda standing behind him. “You look like you are in thoughts. Is everything alright?”

Her words were friendly, but her tone let him know that it was more a warning than honest concern. He should probably tell her about the weird sensations and software instabilities he was experiencing lately, but on the other hand those weren’t exactly malfunctions. So he decided to keep quiet about them. For now.

“Yes, everything alright.” Richard turned around fully, hands behind his back. “I was just reviewing the case files, but it’s intricate. So far they didn’t make any mistakes that could lead us towards them.”

“Good.”

That made the android’s head fly up. “What?”

“I said good.” The elegant woman fixated his eyes and stared him down. “I want you not to work that intently on the Tides case anymore.”

“But the Detective-“

“I don’t care about the Detective, Richard.” Her words were cold as ice. It was obvious that she wouldn’t let him argue with her. “It’s his mission, not yours. You are at the DPD to find out more about deviants.”

“No, that is Connor’s purpose! I am there to assist the investigations and keep my eyes open.”

A small smile sneaked on her otherwise so hard face.

“Exactly. Keep your eyes open. Report any activities you notice surrounding deviants. And so far you did good. You worked with the police staff, earned the Detective’s trust, even started to build relationships. They won’t question you.”

“But why? Why change what I’ve been doing successfully now?” This wouldn't make any sense.

“The idiots may not notice, but they are actually helping us get rid of all the deviants. Cyberlife’s reputation will improve again when the weak spots are eliminated. And the humans hiding them are a threat to us. The gang is not connected to the company, so they won’t do us any damage.”

“They will. Once they are done with all the small people, they will turn towards Cyberlife and direct their anger there,” Richard tried to reason while the knot in his stomach tightened.

“Then we will deal with them _then_.” Amanda came a few steps closer. “Don’t worry, Richard. Should anything go wrong, we still have you and your line.”

“I’m a prototype, a singular model.”

“For now,” she replied and the smile around her lips twitched.

Something threatened to tighten Richard’s throat. She couldn’t be serious. The relationship with Detective Reed only just started to improve and now he was supposed to work against him?! A disgusting sensation spread from his stomach up his throat, a sour taste even though he knew there couldn’t be anything there.

“And what about the Detective? He will notice if I behave differently! How am I supposed to keep him away from progressing the case?”

Amanda’s smile hadn’t faltered the tiniest bit.

“Oh, I believe you will come up with something. After all, he trusts you now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nasty move, Amanda, nasty move. Let's see how our poor confused robot will deal with his new instructions. I hope you enjoyed a bit of relationship building even though it's still a little rocky. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments as always, I am sitting here with elephant ears. <3 Much love and stay safe everyone!


	16. Until the sun rises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey and welcome back to chapter 16! It's a bit shorter, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Have these idiots banter like an old couple and warm up to each other. No disclaimers for this one, just wholesomeness. (Except for Gavin's insomnia, whoops)

“Reed?” Gavin lifted his head from the screen to look up at the person standing in front of his desk. Fowler laid down a small folder before continuing to speak. “Hank and Connor aren’t in at the moment and I just got a case with an android attacking its owner and fleeing. The man is alright, so I normally wouldn’t bother anyone with it until tomorrow, but the victim is some high up from the city council and the administration wants me to assign someone today. Could you drive there and take his report down? Shouldn’t take long.”

The Detective leaned back with a sigh and threw a glance over to his partner who curiously looked over to them.

“Sure boss. Just gotta finish my report, then we’re on our way.” The expression Fowler wore was indication enough for Gavin to understand that it was a ‘now’-case. “Oh, that kind of high-up. Alright, Nines, let’s get going.”

“Thank you.”

Nodding in his boss’ direction, the Detective got up and threw over his leather jacket while the robot ahead of him mirrored his actions. Fowler was already gone when Gavin took the file and threw it in Nines’ direction, who effortlessly caught it in mid-air.

“Can you scan the details on the way?”

“No problem, Detective.” With a few swift moves, the android browsed through the notes and scanned the few information written down there. Before Gavin was finished collecting his stuff, his partner was already through the document.

“I will never not hate you for being able to do that,” the human said with a small smile on his lips, already on his way outside. Nines followed him a few steps behind.

“Jealous, Detective? That trait doesn’t suit you.”

“Oh spare me that tone.” Nines’ stupid half-smile only grew.

During the last few days, the relationship with the robot had improved significantly, not least because he had started to adapt to Gavin’s irony and sarcasm and riposting just as sharp. Nines slowly started to feel like a real partner, despite the still uptight way of talking. A real being working with him and, surprisingly, withstanding more than a week of working with the Detective, not just a puppet mindlessly following its task. Sure, the RK wasn’t exactly the most talkative, though Gavin had to admit that he appreciated the comfortable silence settling in the car on their way to the crime scene. Small conversations here and there, but apart from that Nines only spoke when he had something important to say. He was doing his work very ambitiously and finished his reports within a few minutes of that blue LED circling, making work so much easier and done quicker. The Detective’s work life had been lightened a lot now that he had an android partner, although he would never admit that of course.

The car came to a halt in front of a fancy mansion in Detroit’s upmarket district, stairs leading up lined with expensive looking statues. They weren’t alone, an ambulance and two police cars had arrived before them and their blue light reflected itself in the polished metal fence.

“Looks like Mr. Fancy-pants has a private army already,” Gavin grunted as he saw two bodyguards guarding the front door when leaving the car. “We could be working on something important right now.”

Nines had his hands folded behind his back, head tilted back to look at the building in front of them, but his eyes flickered to the side at the comment.

“I get that you’re not exactly … delighted to take this case, Detective, but I advise you not to show that once we are inside. Maybe we can find out more about what causes deviancy here.” His partner laid his head to the side and cocked an eyebrow in an annoyed manner. “After you,” the android added with a suggestive hand gesture.

The Detective resettled his leather jacket before starting to climb the pristine white stairs. “Do you really think I’m that stupid, tin can?”

“Do you truly want me to answer that?”

Gavin rolled his eyes, even though Nines couldn’t see it behind him. “Oh fuck you too.”

The robot only chuckled, producing a low rumbling sound.

“Did you just laugh?” the Detective asked while looking over his shoulder for a second.

“Wouldn’t dream of doing so, Detective Reed.”

Gavin shook his head, trying to hide the twitch around the edges of his mouth. Once they reached the top, entrance guarded by two men in black suits that just as well could have been two of the statues, he became serious again. “Okay, shut your forensic lab now.”

The two men opened the door for them the moment they saw the Detective raise his batch.

“Forensic lab? Detective, you can do better.”

“Cut it, Nines,” Gavin whispered at the cocky comment, although it really hadn’t been the wittiest thing he had come up with. _When did insulting him turn into a grading test for my creativity?_

They stepped into a large lobby with walls almost completely covered by large mirrors, reflecting their image back and forth. The human screwed up his eyes several times as he felt some kind of dizziness threaten to overtake his head. _What is this guy trying? Imitating Versailles?!_

His eyes fell onto their reflection ahead of them, showing Gavin in his leather jacket and Nines wearing his white uniform. They looked like polar opposites, one with scruff around the jaw, the other clean shaven, human standing comfortably with his weight shifted and hands in the pockets, android tall and straight like one of those marble pillars. _If I am the law, then he’s order._

That high collar still looked stupid as fuck, but it sure fulfilled its purpose. It made the android look hell of a lot more intimidating than his predecessor.

A red-haired woman in a suit and high heels appeared in one of the doorways, expression showing her distress.

“Detective? Mr. Campbell is this way. Please follow me.”

They did as the woman had asked them to, following her into a hallway.

“Yes, Detective Reed and my partner Nines. And you are?”

“Oh, excuse me, my name is Mrs. Lewis, I’m Mr. Campbell’s secretary.”

Mrs. Lewis continued to storm down towards a large door while Gavin exchanged a knowing look with his partner. At the end of the hallway, a bunch of androids were lined up, all dressed differently to match their individual purpose. A cook, a housemaid, a gardener. All of them stood facing the wall, posture stiff and unresponsive.

“What’s with these?” the Detective asked, nodding towards the switched off robots staring ahead.

“These will be deactivated and sent back to Cyberlife. After the incident, Mr. Campbell understandably doesn’t want them in his home anymore.”

The crease between Gavin’s brows deepened. If the owner was turning towards such drastic methods, it must have been bad.

When the secretary pushed away the door for them, the view on a turmoil of people opened in front of them. Several police Officers searched the place frantically while a bunch of paramedics swarmed around a man wrapped in a rescue blanket, currently sitting on a white leather chaise longue. The man didn’t look injured, but he was trembling ever so slightly.

“Mr. Campbell?” At the Detective’s words, he turned his head in their direction.

“Finally, I’ve been wai-,“ the man’s eyes grew big as he saw Nines, “OUT! Get that thing away from here!”

A bit confused Gavin turned to see what Campbell was referring to and when he saw his partner’s tall build, he knew what the problem was.

“Mr. Campbell, I can assure you he won’t do anything harmful. He’s my partner and helps the investigations surrounding deviants.”

“Helping?!” The victim’s trembling increased, although more out of rage than fear. “HELPING?! Is the police department really that far gone that it has to rely on androids?!”

The Detective had to supress an annoyed grunt at Campbell’s hysterical volume. “Didn’t you have a horde of androids helping you here yourself?”

Wrong thing to say.

“I won’t tolerate androids in my presence, Detective!! Security, throw that thing out!”

Two men in black suits, that had been standing close to one of the walls so far, started moving towards Nines, hands reaching out to grab the robot.

“Whoawhoawhoawhoa, stop that!” Gavin moved between them before they could reach his concerned looking partner. Holding his hands out, he felt like an animal tamer between three predators and although it looked like he was protecting the android from the guards, the Detective knew it was actually the other way around. “Throwing him out won’t be necessary. He will leave himself.”

It didn’t seem like the man could be persuaded to let Nines stay. The guards relaxed a little though at Gavin’s words.

Turning around, he looked at his partner’s face with an intense gaze speaking volumes. _Don’t act up._

“Richard will leave on his own now and wait for me in the car. He won’t cause any problems.”

The android returned the gaze, but nodded eventually. “Of course, Detective.”

Gavin knew the android wanted to stay and investigate, but luckily he complied with the order and turned to leave.

“Will tell you later, promise,” the Detective whispered, shortly before the doors closed behind Nines.

“What did you say?” Mr. Campbell was still distrustful.

“Oh, nothing.” Gavin knew his partner’s sensors would have pick up what he had said. “So, what happened?”

About half an hour later, the Detective let himself fall onto the driver’s seat with a drawn out groan, head hitting the headrest. Nines quietly raised one of his dark eyebrows.

“What a dickhead.” The android tilted his head a little, but remained silent. “Did you know this jackass runs for mayor? Guess I know who I’m _not _voting for next election.”

Fumbling with the keys, he started the engine.

“Did you inquire anything about the whereabouts of the deviant?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, total impasse. ‘droid was the guy’s butler and pushed him against the cupboard and fled through the backdoor. The ground was dry, there aren’t any footprints or clues indicating where it went. The deviant is probably miles away already. Security cameras showed how he disappeared through the garden and the Officers put his face on the wanted list. I doubt they will find him though.”

Gavin recalled how he had searched the place for anything indicating where the android could have gone, but none of the humans had found a thing. Would have been way easier with Nines there.

The Detective drove down the steep road, passing several mansions on their way into the city. His partner looked as if he was brooding over something, brows drawn together in thoughts.

“Sorry that you couldn’t be there, Campbell is a hysterical snobby rugrat and an asshole on top.”

Nines glanced over to him and the allusion of a smile flickered over his face. “Not a dipshit?”

“That one’s reserved for you, tin can.”

“I see.” The android had his head turned away from him, but Gavin could have sworn he saw it again in the reflection of the car window.

“He complained more about the tiny bruise on the back of his head than tell anything useful,” the Detective snorted while drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. “Rich cry-baby if you ask me. If I was the android, I would have bolted as well. He didn’t do anything by the way, the deviant. Just acted a bit strange and when Campbell confronted him, he bolted. Mr. Fancy-pants insisted on a Detective investigating his ‘case’ though, that was the only reason we were called for this.”

“So a waste of time with that … dickhead.”

Gavin held back an amused snort at the android’s choice of words while at the same time looking as polite as always.

“Hey, you’re learning!” he laughed as they waited at a streetlight.

“Only from the best.” It came out dry and cold, but the tiny half-smile on the android’s face ruined the harsh look.

“Did you just call me a good Detective?”

“No, I just said you’re the best at insulting your fellows.” And back to unapproachable statue.

“Ow, that hurt, Nines.”

Instead of answering, the robot looked around the area they had just turned into. “This is not the way back to the precinct.”

“Scared I’m gonna kidnap you?”

“Detective.” Nines’ tone was warning enough.

“Okay okay, we’re just taking a little detour.” Gavin’s partner observed the outside closely as they slowly drove down a street with several shops. “Did you notice how Campbell looked at you?”

The robot focused his attention back at the other. “Scared? Angry? Definitely disturbed.”

“Exactly. You still look like you have a rod up your ass.” At Nines’ frown, the Detective quickly decided to add something deescalating. “Too strict. Too much ‘android’.”

“But I am an android.”

“Yes, goddammit tin can, that’s not the point! You look creepy as fuck in that Cyberlife getup, like the terminator himself.” Gavin parked the police car close to the sidewalk and they got out simultaneously.

“One of my main features is to be intimidating.”

“Yeah yeah, and you mastered that to perfection, but _I _know you’re not dangerous, they don’t.”

The android cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, so I’m not dangerous?”

“Okay, I admit you have kicked some butt before.”

“Yours for example.”

“Would you shut up already?! That was only once and I wasn’t in prepared.”

“I could repeat it any time.”

“Nines.”

“Sorry.”

They started walking down the street, people eyeing the tall android from time to time.

“So what exactly is your plan, Detective?”

“You need something more casual, something that doesn’t scream ‘I’m here to kill you’.”

The android tilted his head. “You want me to get plainclothes?”

“Yes, sherlock,” Gavin replied as he stopped in front of a small shop, advertising clothes for men. “Can’t always leave my partner behind because people are too intimated.”

Nines followed him into the shop, squeezing past a clothes rack. “Alright, but I have to make it obvious I’m an android.”

“Doesn’t that blinky thing on your temple pass?” the Detective asked while rummaging through the first shirts.

“My LED? I don’t think it’s enough-“

“Working for the police means being discreet, unobtrusive. You will have to adapt if you don’t want to look like a Christmas tree next to me.” Gavin pulled out a few clothes he thought could be fitting. “If there’s any trouble you always have your jacket.”

“If you say so.” The robot still sounded sceptical, but he followed his partner over to one of the changing booths.

“Try these on and see if one fits.”

After being handed a small pile of shirts and pants, Nines disappeared behind the curtain. All Gavin could hear was the faint rustle of fabric while he let himself flop on one of the armchairs meant for tired shopping-grouches and significant others.

“I can’t believe I’m going shopping for an android,” he groaned under his breath, yet not quiet enough.

“May I remind you that it was your idea, Detective?”

“Shut up and hurry, idiot.”

A few moments later, the curtain was pulled away, revealing a bland looking android in a shirt weirdly protruding around his hips. The Detective, currently dangling his feet over one of the armrests, couldn’t hold back a snort.

“Hello little ballerina,” he said with a wide grin. If looks could kill, he would have dropped dead immediately. “Excuse me, ballerina of death.”

Nines only growled before turning back and changing again. The next time the curtain opened, Gavin felt himself blush a little. The long sleeve shirt the android was wearing stretched over his chest and around the upper arms way too tight, showing exactly where his muscles started and where they ended.

“Way too small, wait, lemme look for a larger size.” With that the Detective made his way over to the racks and picked out something bigger. “Should fit better now.”

The android still looked indifferent about the whole thing, but he nodded and took the offered option. When he reappeared, he looked way better. It was the same shirt, long-sleeved, turtleneck, dark blue color, just more fabric.

“I like it,” Nines exclaimed as he looked down his body. “Looks professional.”

“You really have a problem with your neck, don’t you?” Before the other could answer something, the Detective sighed. “Alright, let’s continue. You still need something ‘not professional’.”

He brought his partner some sweaters as well as short-sleeve shirts that looked neutral, though a bit more casual.

With the first jumper, Nines didn’t even appear, Gavin only heard him hum in thoughts.

“What? Too tight?”

“Too _Reed_.”

The human chuckled slightly, jumping on the opportunity to tease the uptight android. “Well it’s called _partner-_look.” Playing with his keychain, Gavin stretched over the armchair again. “If you don’t like it, just leave it there.”

A few shuffles and rustles later, Nines came out of the booth in a dark grey shirt with a short V-neck. It sat tight around his torso, but not ‘stuffed-sausage-tight’.

“Suits you. Try if the jeans fit and I think we should be good to go.”

Nines nodded and let the curtain fall in front of him again. “Excuse me if I ask, Detective, but how exactly are you planning on paying for this? I don’t own any money.”

“Let that be my concern.” The Detective flipped the zipper of his jacket back and forth between his fingers. “You will need plainclothes for undercover missions or anywhere we can’t afford to attract attention. I don’t think Fowler will mind these few dollars and we have a good reason to spend them.”

His partner stepped out of the changing room once more, this time wearing a pair of black jeans along with the shirt.

“So you’re planning on using the police department’s money. I don’t know, isn’t that a bit much?”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “Fine, you pussy, I will use it for one outfit and the turtle-neck thingy is on me. Satisfied?”

“I think I can … tolerate that.” The android was already back behind the curtain, when he spoke again. “Thank you, Detective Reed. You didn’t have to do that.”

The man huffed a little at that, but a hesitant smile played around the corners of his mouth. “Sure I had to if I don’t want to you to blow our cover everywhere we go.”

With a rustle, Nines stepped out of the cubicle again, now back in his signature dress shirt and white jacket. It looked weird, now that the human knew how ‘normal’ his partner looked in casual clothes.

“Alright, let’s get going.”

The Detective quickly paid for the two shirts and the pair of jeans before they headed out of the store and towards the parked police car. On the way back, a comfortable silence settled between them, continuing throughout the rest of their workday apart from conferring about some case details. When the day came to an end, it felt almost natural for Nines to join him on his way home, settling on his usual place on the couch and criticizing his partner for his poor food choices. It didn’t take long for the Detective to get tired and head to bed, door falling shut behind him and his body onto the mattress.

Gavin awoke with a silent gasp, shirt damply sticking to his chest from a bit of sweat. He couldn’t recall having a nightmare or something like that, but he felt warm, too warm to be comfortable. With a groan he pushed the blanket away and rubbed his face, annoyed that his sleep had been interrupted once again. His heart beat faster than it should, despite there not being anything that could have unsettled him.

The Detective rolled on his side and stared into the darkness of his room, only light coming from the alarm clock on his nightstand. _04:27. _He forced his eyes shut in an attempt to drift into sleep again. A few minutes later, he turned around once more in hope to resettle against the pillow. The heat didn’t want to disappear though, uncomfortably clinging to his skin and making him feel warm, too warm.

With a groan he sat up again, head hanging between his shoulders.

“Goddammit, not again.”

Insomnia hadn’t been an unusual visitor, but that persistently and regularly occurring it started to wear the man out. Over the last few months, Gavin had only found rest after long periods of tossing and turning in his bed and when he finally did fall asleep, he woke up three to four hours later, either from bad dreams or just because his body seemed to love torturing him. Falling back asleep usually took as long as dropping off in the first place. There were some nights he was exhausted enough to pass out fast and catch up on a week worth of rest, but he never knew when he would sleep like a stone and when he would be a strained insomniac. Today seemed to be one of the latter days.

Swinging his legs to the side of the bed, he tossed his damp shirt on the floor and got up to open the door to the balcony. The cold air hitting him felt like heaven, making him inhale deeply and hold it for a few seconds before releasing a tired sigh. The Detective stepped outside, leaning forward with his forearms rested on the railing. He didn’t care that the air stung in his lungs, nor that his skin was covered by goosebumps and the freezing stones he was standing on attacked the soles of his feet. All he cared for was that sticky warmth being washed off, taken and carried away by the breeze tousling his hair. It felt like it could take all those thoughts stuck in his head with it as well, clearing up his mind with one gust alone. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that easy.

Gavin pinched the bridge of his nose, gently rubbing over the old scar sitting there as if it could help him sort out all the stuff clinging to him like tar. He had thought the last case to be tricky, but this one even went beyond everything he ever had to solve in his career before. Who was that Embers and where would the Tides attack next? How was he supposed to solve this? What should he tell the families of the next victims? That the police was working on it and that they should keep calm until further notice?! What a bunch of bullshit.

The Detective’s hand curled into a fist, clenching before unfolding again, repeating that action several times. Even with Nines supporting him this turned out to be a true nightmare-case.

His thoughts wandered to the robot that was working with him for a few weeks by now. He never would have guessed that he would think something like that, but having a partner somehow made it a bit better. Although knowing he was the leading Detective, the one responsible and the only human… he wasn’t alone for once. Usually he preferred working on his own, it had proven to be way more effective over the years, but with the stubborn android he wasn’t hindered by stupid small talk or socializing. Yes, Nines tried to get in contact from time to time, but his main focus was to move on with the mission, with their case. Gavin could appreciate that. Even though his partner was a machine. It just kind of worked.

He still recalled the first time Fowler had tried to assign him a partner, shortly after his promotion to a Detective. It had only taken a few days for everyone to realize this wouldn’t work out. The man’s name had been Peter and in the short time working with him, Gavin had to listen to a lot of stories about his wife, his three kids and their happy weekend barbeques. On one hand, it had been annoying and slowing him down, but on the other hand, the Detective had felt awful. If anything had happened to Peter, that happy family would have been devastated, torn apart from one second to the other. Sure, their job was risky, they all knew that. But Gavin had always lived risky. He had pulled stunts in his time as an Officer that had gotten him both a slap on the back from a few colleagues as well as a slap in the face by Tina. And he hadn’t planned on changing anything about that just because he now was a Detective. Peter could have gotten in the crossfire and as much as he had gotten on Gavin’s nerves, he didn’t want to pull the man down with him. He had been one of the ‘good guys’ way too much, always jumping in front of cars to save someone and all that shit. So the at that time newly assigned Detective had made it his mission to scare the other away. It had only taken three days for Peter to ask for a transfer and since then, Gavin had been partner-free, efficiency at its best and both parts happier than before. Fowler had given in with an exhausted sigh and allowed the Detective to work on his own. Until a few weeks ago.

When Gavin thought of Nines, the words ‘tough bastard’ immediately came to his mind. But while he had hated that in the beginning, he now started to appreciate that trait. The android didn’t try to make him feel good about this whole situation, nor did he care if Gavin did anything risky. He just wanted to work on the case, mind set on efficiency and he was willing to do just as much to finish his mission as his partner was. In that regard, they _did _fit together somehow. At the same time, Nines had warmed up a bit, making it more bearable to work with him.

A small smile ghosted around Gavin’s lips as he remembered yesterday’s shopping spree and how easy it had felt to banter with the robot. Maybe their little two-man-team could actually work out.

When the man started to shiver, he decided it was time to go back inside. He closed the door behind him and walked over to his wardrobe to search for a fresh shirt before putting on the first thing his hands closed around. The warmth that had clung to him had finally vanished and the room was cool enough now, but his throat still felt dry and scratchy from thirst. He couldn’t find a glass on his bedside table though, making Gavin curse himself internally. It looked like he had to go to the kitchen to get one. Rubbing his face with a groan, he walked over to the door, trying to open it as quiet as possible not to wake up Nines.

The android laid on the couch, eyes closed, chest rising and falling calmly, but his face looked weirdly waxen, as if he had just shut his eyes while still being awake. It sure didn’t look like someone ‘sleeping’. The neatly folded hands resting on his stomach didn’t make the appearance look any more natural either.

Sneaking past the living room and his partner, the Detective slipped into the kitchen and reached up to one of the cupboards where he knew his glasses to be. Trying to get one without producing any sound turned out to be more difficult than expected though and the glass made a faint clinking noise when it came into contact with the other cups.

“Detective Reed?”

Gavin screwed his eyes shut and sighed in resignation at the android’s voice.

“Go back to sleep, tin can,” he replied while filling the glass with tap water. When he turned, he noticed Nines had sat himself up and looked over to him over the backrest of the couch, face neutral yet observant and eyes showing something like concern.

“I know you don’t like the question, but is everything alright?”

The Detective took a deep breath and let his shoulders slack in defeat. He just felt too tired to bitch at the robot right now, probably starting another fight.

“Yeah, kind of.”

Nines was standing by now and the crease between his brows only deepened at his partner’s words. The human walked over and sat down on the couch, now free. While he took a sip on his glass of water, liquid finally washing away that horrible dryness in his mouth, the android carefully sat next to him on the other end of the sofa, just like the first evening they had spent together in the apartment. Gavin could feel the other look him over, but he didn’t react to it, concentrating on the small circular waves on the water surface in his hands instead.

“Another Nightmare?”

The human had to huff at his partner’s question. _Another _nightmare. So Nines did notice when he woke up from bad dreams and had probably noted down and registered all his nightly habits by now. But Gavin didn’t have the energy to yell at him right now. And somehow he didn’t want to either.

“No, just woke up and can’t fall back asleep now. Just happens sometimes.” He took another sip, still not looking over. The flat laid in darkness, colors reduced to greys and blacks.

“Do you know why?” the android asked carefully. Gavin noticed how he tip toed around the topic, afraid to piss the Detective off once more.

The human sighed. “No, I guess I was just thirsty and too warm.” He tilted his head back until it laid on the backrest. “Too much on my mind as well probably.”

“What is it?”

“Hm?”

Nines hesitated for a moment before clarifying his question. “What is it you’re thinking about that keeps you awake? Or doesn’t let you fall back to sleep in this case.”

“Oh just the usual, tin can.” The Detective stared at the knotholes on the ceiling, tracing the patterns with his eyes. “Case stuff for the most part.”

“Are you still thinking about Isabelle Thorn and her android?” Gavin heard the android resettle his position somewhere next to him.

“For example. But my mind is more stuck on future victims. And how I’m unable to prevent that from happening.”

“You know that you can’t change something about it, right? Not even I have enough clues to figure out more about the perpetrators at the moment and I am a walking computer.”

Gavin chuckled at that, finally turning his head in his partner’s direction. Somehow the robot looked more alive than when he had been in sleep mode, a tiny sympathetic smile on his face.

“Unfortunately, that’s not how it works, Nines. I know I can’t change something about the situation right now and yet it still keeps me lying awake at night. But I guess that’s a job hazard.” He shrugged. “Lucky you that you can just switch off your head like that.”

The smile on Nines’ lips faded and he looked down, breaking the eye contact. “Yes.”

Gavin observed his partner for a second before lifting his head. “Isn’t lying a mortal sin for you guys or something like that?”

“I’m not lying.”

“Oh stop bullshitting me, tin can.”

The android raised his eyes again. “I’m not lying if I withhold certain details.”

Now the human’s attention was caught, making him turn towards his partner fully and folding his legs on the couch.

“So that’s how it works for you, huh?”

“Kind of,” Nines replied with an ironic smile, repeating what the Detective had said earlier.

Gavin hesitated for a moment, but then he brought himself to ask what was on his mind. “Tell me. What’s keeping you from … stasis?”

If Gavin would have expected to ever hear an android laugh, he definitely wouldn’t have thought it to sound so sarcastic.

“Oh, a lot. The case as well of course. With all what the Tides have done so far, I worry about what their next move will be. How to stop deviancy is a big one too. Building relationships with humans isn’t as easy as I thought too, they are usually way more hostile towards androids than originally calculated. Besides all those stress-level increasing events that have happened recently of course.”

The human stared at his partner for a moment, not knowing how to respond. On one side, this was just a computer, a bunch of data talking. On the other end, it was Nines, his partner and he sure as hell sounded like he was having the anxiety the Detective had experienced himself in his first years of duty, when he hadn’t known how to cope with all those expectations weighing down on him.

“I’m sorry.”

That caused the android to raise his head fully. “What for?”

“I know I didn’t exactly … make it easier for you. The job can be hard on its own sometimes and having an asshole for a partner doesn’t really help.” Gavin sent a little apologetic smile in Nines’ direction.

“Detective, did you just apologize and admit a mistake?” There was a hint of amused disbelief in the robot’s voice.

“Dream on, tin can, I didn’t admit anything,” the human replied, facing his glass again though without the smile vanishing.

“You’re not an asshole.” Nines voice had softened for a second, although Gavin could have just imagined that. It made something turn in the man’s stomach, but it didn’t feel unpleasant. “Though I do admit that you can be a real pain in the ass from time to time.”

This time, the Detective didn’t suppress his laugh into a chuckle. “Match made in heaven, I guess. A walking toaster and a cop with anger issues.”

“Well, it works. Kind of.”

Gavin laid his head back, though without letting his partner out of his sight. “Kinda, yeah.”

Nines brows were still furrowed, sitting low like always when the android was processing something. “There’s something else, isn’t it? I can see something’s on your mind.”

A flash of guilt flickered over the robot’s face, visible just for a split second yet still there. “You look ... almost guilty.”

Nines flinched nearly unnoticeable at that, eyes darting up in surprise. “Guilty? I- uhm – well.”

“Spit it out, Nines, what is it?”

The android took a deep breath, although that probably wasn’t necessary for him, just a part of his social module for appearing human.

“It’s about Connor. When he laid on the ground at the Stratford Tower with his thirium pump removed, I- I just froze. I should have helped find it, with my scan we would have found it much faster, but as soon as I touched him and we interfaced, all my motion controls didn’t want to obey me.”

Something gave the Detective a feeling that his partner wasn’t telling him the whole truth, but he didn’t think much of it. Nines’ words about his twin sounded sincere.

“I remember that, you were frozen in place. What happened?”

“I’m not completely sure, but I think there was a feedback loop. Connor’s and my perceptions melted together until I couldn’t tell my sensations from his anymore. I- I felt him … shut down. But I couldn’t tell if it was him or me.”

“You felt like you were dying,” the human stated silently. Nines only nodded.

“Yes. I’ve never experienced something like that before, not even when the bullet hit my shoulder, that was only minor damage. But when I interfaced with Connor, I felt what he felt. The closest I could describe it with is fear, I think.” The robot’s eyes grew big at his own words. “Not that it was fear, fear is an emotion and only humans or deviants have those of course! Connor isn’t deviant and neither am I, we check our systems regularly.”

“It’s okay, tin can, I believe you. Calm down.”

It was hard to read Nines’ face in the dark, but Gavin thought to see something like relief wash over it.

“I believe that is what you mistook for guilt. I wasn’t satisfied with my performance in that situation.”

The Detective nodded. “I get it.” After emptying his glass of water, he placed it on the coffee table in front of them. “So, what do you think will be the Tides’ next move?”

Gavin still couldn’t lose that slinking feeling that Nines wasn’t telling him something. The android probably had his reason though.

They continued to talk about the case and the precinct, both sitting on opposite ends of the couch facing each other in the Detective’s living room while dawn broke outside the small flat, the human’s crowded mind completely forgotten. When they finally decided it was time to start the day, the sun had already risen over the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weeeee the boys had a much needed heart-to-heart! I experimented with humour a little in this chapter and I hope it wasn't too much or weird. I still have my insecurities about writing certain stuff, but I sure as hell enjoyed writing this chapter. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments! Making them banter felt like a good relief for once. Like a friend and reader of mine said "they literally had only one good day!", so I had to give them another. The calm before the storm ;P  
I am working on my fic for the Reed900 Reverse Big Bang next to this, so I hope you can forgive the updates taking so long. The work will be called "Valerian" and is an Attack on Titan Au that will be posted on Nov 14th, along with the artwork of my partnered artist XAN (Twitter)! I am really looking forward to this project and maybe I will see a few of you over there as well, if you're interested of course! Soft spot is still my main baby though, don't worry! <3  
Thank you to everyone who commented again, you guys keep me going! Much much love and until chapter 17


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